1969 Quote by Wilhelm Reich
““More than economic dependency of the wife and children on the husband and father is needed to preserve the institution of the authoritarian family [and its support of the authoritarian state]. For the suppressed classes, this dependency is endurable only on condition that the consciousness of being a sexual being is suspended as completely as possible in women and in children. The wife must not figure as a sexual being, but solely as a child-bearer. Essentially, the idealization and deification of motherhood, which are so flagrantly at variance with the brutality with which the mothers of the toiling masses are actually treated, serve as means of preventing women from gaining a sexual consciousness, of preventing the imposed sexual repression from breaking through and of preventing sexual anxiety and sexual guilt-feelings from losing their hold. Sexually awakened women, affirmed and recognized as such, would mean the complete collapse of the authoritarian ideology. Conservative sexual reform has always made the mistake of merely making a slogan of "the right of woman to her own body," and not clearly and unmistakably regarding and defending woman as a sexual being, at least as much as it regards and defends her as a mother. Furthermore, conservative sexual reform based its sexual policies predominantly on the function of procreation, instead of undermining the reactionary view that equates sexuality and procreation.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Sexual Revolution, Wilhelm Reich, 1936
The quote argues that authoritarian societies suppress women's sexual identity to maintain control, using motherhood ideals to keep women subordinate and prevent sexual consciousness that could undermine the regime.
In simple terms: Authoritarian regimes hide women's sexuality to keep power.
Recognize women as sexual beings, not just mothers.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- women's rights activism
- policy reform
- education on sexuality
- healthcare
- cultural change
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies balance motherhood respect with sexual autonomy?
- What policies truly empower women's sexual agency?
If sexual agency is emphasized without broader structural change, oppression may persist in other forms.