--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we can get that realistic feminine…" description: "\"If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for us, if we can trust ourselves and so let women think and feel that an unwanted child or an o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/ursula-k-le-guin-138_birth_if-we-can-get-that-realistic-feminine-mo_948788.jpg" --- # If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for… ![“If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for us, if we can trust ourselves and so let women think and feel that an unwanted child or an oversize family is wrong -- not ethically wrong, not against the rules, but morally wrong, all wrong, wrong like a thalidomide birth, wrong like…” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/ursula-k-le-guin-138_birth_if-we-can-get-that-realistic-feminine-mo_948788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/ursula-k-le-guin-138_birth_if-we-can-get-that-realistic-feminine-mo_948788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/ursula-k-le-guin-138_birth_if-we-can-get-that-realistic-feminine-mo_948788.jpg) > “If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for us, if we can trust ourselves and so let women think and feel that an unwanted child or an oversize family is wrong -- not ethically wrong, not against the rules, but morally wrong, all wrong, wrong like a thalidomide birth, wrong like taking a wrong step that will break your neck -- if we can get feminine and human morality out from under the yoke of a dead ethic, then maybe we'll begin to get somewhere on the road that leads to survival.” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that redefining morality beyond traditional ethics could guide humanity toward survival, especially regarding reproductive choices and family size. **In simple terms:** New moral frameworks may help humanity survive. Key Takeaway Consider redefining morality for survival. Themes ethics survival gender reproductive rights Mood thoughtful concerned Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debates - family planning - public health - environmental sustainability Key Concepts moral philosophy social evolution bioethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance new moral perspectives with existing traditions? - What risks arise when moral frameworks change rapidly? A Different Perspective Moral shifts may clash with entrenched cultural norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Feminine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminine/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Let women paint their eyes with tints of chastity, insert into their ears the word of God, tie the yoke of Christ around their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/let-women-paint-their-eyes-with-tints-of-chastity-insert-into-their/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Peace is only possible if men cease to place their happiness in the possession of things "which cannot be shared," and if they raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-benda/peace-is-only-possible-if-men-cease-to-place-their-happiness-in-the/) [Julien Benda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-benda/) > [“If truth is what each of us believed, and we each believe differently, there would be no such thing as truth. Truth stands against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-williamson/if-truth-is-what-each-of-us-believed-and-we-each-believe-differently/) [Jill Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-williamson/) > [Human morality is unthinkable without empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/human-morality-is-unthinkable-without-empathy/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“A man does what he must, in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressure, and that is the basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-damore/a-man-does-what-he-must-in-spite-of-personal-consequences-in-spite-of-2/) Leo Damore > [The sturdiest pillars of human morality are compassion and a sense of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-sturdiest-pillars-of-human-morality-are-compassion-and-a-sense-of/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [The respect and protection of woman and of maternity should be raised to the position of an inalienable social duty and should become one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-respect-and-protection-of-woman-and-of-maternity-should-be-raised/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Therefore the great mediator of any community is human morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armstrong-williams/therefore-the-great-mediator-of-any-community-is-human-morality/) [Armstrong Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armstrong-williams/) > [Kathleen Wynne and her band of radical-left cronies think they have a handle on what constitutes human identity and also what should constitute human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/kathleen-wynne-and-her-band-of-radical-left-cronies-think-they-have-a/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [“While it shows the gods as no better than the rest of us," she said, "at least, it shows them as no worse. 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Christianity raises men from earth, for it comes from heaven; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/in-morals-as-in-physics-the-stream-cannot-rise-higher-than-its-source/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-does-what-he-must-in-spite-of-personal-consequences-in-spite-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was crime at its purest, in which empathy, that most fundamental aspect of human morality, evaporated and another being became only a target…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/it-was-crime-at-its-purest-in-which-empathy-that-most-fundamental/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [Blind obedience is itself an abuse of human morality. It is a misuse of the human soul in the name of religious commitment. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blind-obedience-is-itself-an-abuse-of-human-morality-it-is-a-misuse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for us, if we can trust ourselves and so let women think and feel that an unwanted child or an oversize family is wrong -- not ethically wrong, not against the rules, but morally wrong, all wrong, wrong like a thalidomide birth, wrong like taking a wrong step that will break your neck -- if we can get feminine and human morality out from under the yoke of a dead ethic, then maybe we'll begin to get somewhere on the road that leads to survival.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. 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