Browse 252 quotes about Women S Liberation.
“Perhaps hunting, on which male anthropologists place so much weight, gave men a sense of identity, responsibility, and power.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Female maturity is evident in the onset of menstruation; nothing signals male maturity. When a boy becomes capable of erection, he may or may not yet be able to father a child. The ambiguity of male maturity, together with the lack of a given role that it seems to indicate, is precisely the problem male solidarity is intended to counter.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Puberty rites are specifically designed to coerce boys to reject their primary and deepest bond, to their mothers. Male initiations emphasise that men must be born twice, once through the mother and a second time through men.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Isolated, confined, allowed only small amounts of certain foods and drink, taught that her body is powerful but contaminated, a girl learns that she has power - to pollute: in such cultures, menstrual blood is a source of horror and fear. Menstruation symbolises female power, considered destructive to men. If female power can destroy men, women are men's enemies, and the condition of the sexes is a state of war.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Rituals were designed to protect men from Earth's retribution, and it has been suggested that after the invention of horticulture, humans began to attribute creation to a deity above nature, rather than within it, to a male God rather than a female Goddess.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Patrilinies are founded on domination. To own children, men must guarantee their paternity, which requires them to guard women's bodies, claiming to own them. This claim turns women into men's possessions. Controlling another requires force, so patrilineality permits or encourages brutality towards women. Such behaviour makes for bad relations between the sexes. Brutality is rare in matrilinies, where women are surrounded by kin; men invented patrilocality to control women.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Myths rarely offer facts, only metaphors for political or social forces, but myths about former female powers would not exist if men had always controlled women. If men always controlled women, their domination would need to explanation or justification, but would seem natural. Myths of once powerful females are amazingly universal.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Once the mechanisms of patrilineality, patrilocality, and exogamy were in place, it was difficult for women to escape. In time, men in some groups raised vying for status to an organising principle, competing to show their importance within the group and generating "Big man" societies. These societies fostered the rise of the state and its sociopolitical form - patriarchy.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“The term " Patriarchy" denotes institutionalised male dominance, guaranteed by a set of interlocking structures that perpetuate the power and authority of an elite class of men over all other humans and grant all men power and authority over women of their class. Power is might - physical, psychological, or economic. Animals may dominate other animals by virtue of birth or charisma. But authority - a moral or spiritual right (tactically backed by force) to judge others and coerce behaviour - does not exist among animals. Authority is insidious because we tend to internalise it: we feel guilt at performing acts called wrong by authorities, even if we ourselves do not believe them wrong.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Patriarchies are societies within institutions - hierarchical bodies of government, religion, law, education, commerce, and culture - designed to transcend individual lives, to endure over ages, and to maintain and transmit power from man to man, a practice called "Passing the mantle". All institutions have customs or laws that give men prerogatives or advantages and that exclude or limit the participation of women and certain men. Patriarchies in different states disempower different groups of men, but they all disempower women.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Matriarchy, if it existed, would be identical to patriarchy, with females dominant. Women have wielded great power in the world and have had personal authority over men in their families or communities. But no society has institutionalised female-dominance, a sociopolitical structure giving women authority over men and the right to use force against them. So entrenched is patriarchal thinking, however, that people commonly use the term "Matriarchy" to describe women living free of male authority.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“States are corporations masquerading as peoples. They encompass diverse peoples with varied customs, bloodlines, and languages, and they are ruled by an elite that imposes unity by force and asserts a bond of nationality that supersedes traditional blood or family ties.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Status is treacherous for women: in patriarchies, it is always a trade-off for freedom.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Men who rise in status win greater autonomy or power, but women who rise in status must cede control of their reproductive and person life or their work.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“People in simple societies may have killed infants they could not feed in times of scarcity. Female infanticide is an entirely different matter. It occurs in societies with private property in which only males can own property, and it is justified by the need for male heirs. In such societies, men alone can perform religious rituals. Female infanticide is obviously a manifestation of low self esteem for females. Since women's status was traditionally associated with their reproductive capabilities, female infanticide also implies a low value for reproduction. It occurred in most ancient states.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Today, no law or custom forces women to constrict themselves this way. They do it to gain status, to set themselves off from the common herd of a despised species. Elite women always adopt fashions that impede freedom of movement and action, and those who want to appear to be elite always imitate them. Men mock women as slaves to fashion but women's concern with fashion has a sub text. All women know that females are barely known as animals.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Democracies claim that they do not subscribe to the lie of patriarchy but hold everyone equal. A society of equals votes for one man to be held a limited superior for a limited time, in order to govern not as a divine appointee, but as the people's choice. But patriarchal thinking, with its idolisation of power a belief in transcendence, permeates all societies and cannot simply be ignored. Power cliques develop in patriarchies, and soon enough become supreme, even over the elected governor. In our time, these cliques are multinational corporations. Politics cannot change unless patriarchy ceases to be the primary structure of our thought.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Patriarchy insists that some people are better than others because its primary reason for existing is to assert that men are superior to women. But because this claim is a falsehood, it is regularly challenged. States built on lies are insecure and are easily threatened; leaders must endlessly propagandise, insisting their lies are truths.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Patriarchy was conceived as a revolution against female domination; men pulled together against a sex described as inferior in order to usurp women's powers. But they did not really want women's powers: they did not want the responsibility for producing and raising children and the daily work of sustaining men. They wanted symbolic powers - ownership of children and women.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“The assertion of female inferiority prepares the ground for men's subjection, because the principle of superiority ramifies endlessly. If one man can be superior to another, the second man may also be superior to a third, and so on. If men can be superior to women, some men can be superior to other men. Male solidarity attempts to blur that fact, to assert that "down deep" all men are brothers. But this ideal is far from realisation in this world - men are united only when they are opposed to women. Male superiority is a psychological core of patriarchy, but its political and economic purpose is the subjection of other men. Men have regularly rebelled against one ruler or another but have never rebelled against the principle of superiority - the only rebellion that can end the injustice and misery that arises from invidious distinctions - or generic discrimination.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“There's a reason why men didn't see fit to allow women equal rights for so long, and why women were put through medical and sexual torture, force-fed, starved, lobotomised, incarcerated, why they were even burnt at the stake as witches, before basic human rights were granted to them. Something's gone wrong with men-kind. whether it's nature or nurture, time will tell, but their fury and violence towards non-submissive women is a chronic epidemic that comes in waves. This is your wave. We need you to fight in our corner, not theirs.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Transactivists claim that no man would go through the 'ordeal' of falsely claiming to identify as a woman, but is saying 'I'm a woman' in a society where everyone is treated as a hateful bigot unless they unquestioningly honour that statement really that difficult?”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“People who suffer oppression for their bodies, such as ethnic minorities, women, and the disabled, don't have the luxury to identify out of it. Yet, our institutions continue to promote the belief that the most oppressed group in history consists of healthy and often privileged people - such as white middle class men - who are self identifying into oppressed groups using the phrase 'born in the wrong body'. Thanks to not suffering the same limitations experienced by groups they wish to be part of, they exert immense influence on the regulators and these communities, where they position themselves as leaders and spokespeople. They are then redefining the aims and priorities of these groups and preventing genuine members from freely discussing issues that affect them.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Their idea of what it means to live a life in a female body is informed by the male gaze, gender stereotypes and porn. This is why their fantasy recreation of a woman hardly ever involves being paid less, doing unpaid domestic labour or being ignored. Instead they are drawn to the stereotype of beautiful bimbos whose lives are easy and filled with acceptance, slumber parties, gossiping in female toilets, colouring each other's hair and prancing around in sexy lingerie and fluffy slippers.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“How can a man know what being a female feels like, when he's not female? The answer is - he can't. He can only have an idea based on the way he perceives the opposite sex, and since every man has his own ideas, this makes the definition of 'woman' illusive. What's more, given that men have traditionally viewed women as weak, submissive and empty headed sex objects who wear dresses, makeup and have long hair, men who claim to be women often emulate feminine gender stereotypes in order to substantiate their claim to womanhood.”
“Category errors that redefine the members of a privileged class as members of an oppressed class are particularly pernicious because they replicate the existing social hierarchies. Men who claim to be women, for example, still exploit, abuse and subjugate women, only they do this from within the women's movement, dismantling women's right to single sex spaces and silencing discussions about uniquely female experiences.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Just like the most ardent of priests, transactivists are not only asking us to believe them, they are asking us to believe in them as agents of truth, who are in possession of knowledge that eludes the rest of us.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Identifying with someone who isn't you is empathy. Identifying as someone who isn't you is identity theft.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“[...] the argument that rape - by violence or deception - is a good method to ensure the survival of the human species has never been convincing. Women, like men, are born with a biological imperative to procreate and they are instinctively equipped to choose males that have a chance of producing the fittest offspring, either due to superior / compatible genetics or a willingness to help raise the young. Taking this choice away from a woman undermines the basic process of mate selection and ultimately works against the survival of the species. Selfish males who sexually coerce women seldom make good fathers and providers. Their violence, neglect, and abandonment creates significant psychological and physical trauma, which is passed on to the next generation, creating a cycle of despair and destructiveness.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“The belief that a man not being able to orgasm in whatever way he wants is a tragedy, and something that - no matter how drastic - must be done about it, is in fact the bread and butter of male supremacy. to this end, men have created prostitution, pornography, sex dolls and even the oppression of women, which includes an expectation that women will do whatever it takes to satisfy male sexual urges, and take responsibility for male sexual offending.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“History is full of women who thought they could bargain their way out of oppression by throwing other women under the bus. Women who believe that if only they joined in with the persecution of feminists, lesbians, women in prison and domestic violence shelters, they would be immune from attack. Believe this at your peril.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Have you thought about why, in the UK and Ireland, we can't stop men who identify as women from competing in women's sporting events, becoming Women's Officers and winning 'woman of the year' awards, but women who identify as men still can't inherit peerages or become catholic priests? It's because this ideology you are caught up in is patriarchy on steroids, designed to rig the game even more to women's disadvantage.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“Transactivists try to liken single sex spaces and services to racial segregation or discrimination based on sexual orientation, but that is a false equivalent. Men being violent towards women is a well documented problem in our society. We have no evidence that people of certain races or sexual orientations are more dangerous than others. Therefore, a woman requesting a female doctor is both reasonable and justified in light of male pattern violence, while discrimination against a lesbian or a black doctor would clearly be wrong.”
Source: Born in the Right Body: Gender Identity Ideology From a Medical and Feminist Perspective
“The shift from female centrality to male domination occurred before the development of writing, so its roots are hidden. In consequence, and men's response over the millennia to all moves by women towards greater autonomy, suggests that it emerged from male hostility towards women and was imposed on them. The destruction of matricentry was the first and most important male war against women.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“Men believe that women were nonvolitional beings, bound to their bodies and their instincts. But studies have shown that mothering is learned; is not instinctive. We learn to mother by being mothered, and creatures that are not mothered cannot do it. Taking care creates love, for a baby, a piece of land, an animal. Men devalue this work, attributing it to mere instinct, ignoring the many women who abandon children or raise them cruelly. Taking responsibility is not instinctual in human beings as it is in other mammals. It is a choice.”
Source: From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World, Vol. 1
“The sexual degradation of women has long been accompanied by laughter. If misogyny has a soundtrack, it is canned laughter.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Most women are frequently labelled “insane” for expressing their misery and failing to act positive. It is form of misogynistic abuse that is also about pushing women towards the doctor’s room, the therapists couch, and the chemist.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Living in a rape culture means adjusting to being hyper-vigilant about male violence to the point where risk management becomes second nature. It means living with the continuum of male sexual violence on a daily basis, form creepy and threatening looks and comments in the street, home and workplace, to online rape threats, attempted assault and actual assault. It means inhabiting a paradoxical space where the rape and murder of women is prohibited but everywhere eroticised and the object of laughter.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Many men, when asked a simple question about why male domination exists, reply that it is because men are stronger than women. This answer seems innocuously simple minded, but the explanatory statement that ‘men have power over women because they are physically stronger than women’ also means ‘men can rape and kill women if they want to’. There is no point replying that it is illegal to rape and kill women. The law does not come into it at all. It is as though the legal prohibitions against male sexual violence are little more that the sales pitch of a corporation eager to hide its criminal intent behind images of satisfied customers.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Gender is to sexism as woman is to misogyny. Sexism and gender are male friendly neo liberal words. “Won’t somebody please think of the men?” because they are, apparently, equal to women in their oppression by sexism and gender. The male elite of the new world order are actually victims of heterosexual masculinity. It would make as much sense to replace ‘white supremacy’ with the concept of ‘racially based discrimination’, or ‘ruling class oppression’ with the concept of ‘economically based prejudice’. The tactic is about obscuring forms of violence which, despite the laboriously pompous deconstructions of identity politics, are still identity based.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Telling rape jokes or laughing at women being brutalised has become a sign of virility and a marker of masculine freedom. In this context, raping women becomes a status enhancing smashing of the feminising legal restraints imposed on male sexuality. The trending of rape jokes on the internet also gains cool currency precisely because the internet is seen as a feral outlaw social technology, anarchic carnival space where every kind of subversion is permitted and defended in the name of freedom of speech – for those men who have access to the playground, at least.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Rape jokes are very far from rebellious, subversive, or oppositional. They are fascist salutes to male supremacy. Laughing about the sexual (and thus the physical, emotional, and psychological) torture of females, signals one’s servile obedience to the misogynistic status quo.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Rape humour signals that rape culture has escaped the law. The laughter is malicious affirmation of a culture that recognises that, although rape might officially be a crime, the majority of rapists walk free without even having to endure the discomfort of being accused by victims or publicly or privately shamed.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Rape humour signals that the victim blaming which feminists have fought against for decades has triumphed and that the sexual assault of women is permissible because victims inhabit a culture in which their suffering invites, not compassion, but a predatory, malicious laughter.”
“Every gun, warship, jet and bomb is also a theft from women as a sex class. There is more than enough money for public education, health, state funded day care systems, food and other necessities; there is more than enough money to protect single mothers and their children from deadly forms of poverty and social exclusion. There is more than enough money. Austerity is the propaganda of the new fascism which delivers violent budget cuts against its own citizens just as it ramps up global inequality and steadily arms itself with weapons of mass murder.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“It is time we recognised the casual normalisation of lethal misogyny as an act of political terrorism and not, as the mindless purveyors of the free speech doctrine would argue, as simply the democratic right to masturbate to whatever takes his fancy.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“New communication technologies have intensified and expanded misogyny so that smart phones have become political weapons, instruments of rape culture propaganda, in the hands of a population conditioned to secure their status within the group by practising hatred against girls and women.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“The increase in eating disorders, self-mutilation, suicide, and other expressions of unbearable suffering among young women are a sign that radical new forms of misogyny are succeeding at destroying girls.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“It is tempting to think of such men as a deviant sub-culture, a pathological underground, a sick minority. Yet splatter films which revel in pornographic scenes where women are tortured and killed are part of the mainstream; music videos celebrating male violence against women to the point of death and beyond are also mainstream. Misogynist hate propaganda is so normalised it has faded into the texture of the everyday – and we barely notice how pervasive it is.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded
“Lack of empathy towards women has not only been recoded as “weak” or “politically correct” or a sign that one is sympathetic to the “F word” – something worse has occurred. Cruelty towards women has become the leitmotif of a reloaded misogyny that I have no hesitation in naming as fascist.”
Source: Misogyny Re-Loaded