Elizabeth Gould Davis

Artist

Elizabeth Gould Davis was a pioneering feminist writer known for her influential book 'The First Sex,' which critiques gender roles and advocates for women's rights.

Born
January 1, 1940
Quotes
11
Rank
#1435

About Elizabeth Gould Davis

Elizabeth Gould Davis — Life and Legacy

Elizabeth Gould Davis was a significant figure in feminist literature, best known for her groundbreaking work 'The First Sex.' This book challenged the traditional perceptions of gender, arguing that women have been historically marginalized and undervalued. Through her writing, Davis explored the complexities of female identity and the societal structures that perpetuate inequality. Davis's core ideas revolve around the notion that women's roles have been misrepresented throughout history. She famously stated that women are not merely defined by their relationships to men but possess intrinsic value and agency. This perspective is evident in her assertion that 'the first sex' refers to women as the foundational element of society, deserving recognition and respect. Her insights remain relevant today, as they continue to inspire discussions about gender equality and women's rights. Davis's work not only highlighted the struggles women face but also empowered them to reclaim their narratives, making her quotes a vital part of feminist discourse.

Quote collection

Elizabeth Gould Davis quotes

11 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

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"Man is by nature a pragmatic materialist, a mechanic, a lover of gadgets and gadgetry; and these are the qualities that characterize the "establishment" which regulates modern society: pragmatism, materialism, mechanization, and gadgetry. Woman, on the other hand, is a practical idealist, a humanitarian with a strong sense of noblesse oblige, an altruist rather than a capitalist."

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"it is not men that most women worry about when they rise to the defense of the status quo. Their apparent endorsement of male supremacy is, rather, a pathetic striving for self-respect, self-justification, and self-pardon. After fifteen hundred years of subjection to men, Western woman finds it almost unbearable to face the fact that she has been hoodwinked and enslaved by her inferiors - that the master is lesser than the slave."

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"The idea of feminine authority is so deeply embedded in the human subconscious that even after all these centuries of father-right the young child instinctively regards the mother as the supreme authority. He looks upon the father as equal with himself, equally subject to the woman's rule. Children have to be taught to love, honor, and respect the father, a task usually assumed by the mother."

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"The most wasteful "brain drain" in America today is the drain in the kitchen sink."

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"To the "masculists" of both sexes, "femininity" implies all that men have built into the female image in the past few centuries: weakness, imbecility, dependence, masochism, unreliability, and a certain "babydoll" sexuality that is actually only a projection of male dreams. To the "feminist" of both sexes, femininity is synonymous with the eternal female principle, connoting strength, integrity, wisdom, justice, dependability, and a psychic power foreign and therefore dangerous to the plodding masculists of both sexes."

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"The fact is that men need women more than women need men; and so, aware of this fact, man has sought to keep woman dependent upon him economically as the only method open to him of making himself necessary to her. Since in the beginning woman would not become his willing slave, he has wrought through the centuries a society in which woman must serve him if she is to survive."

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"Men insist that they don't mind women succeeding so long as they retain their "femininity". Yet the qualities that men consider "feminine" - timidity, submissiveness, obedience, silliness, and self-debasement - are the very qualities best guaranteed to assure the defeat of even the most gifted aspirant."

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"...congenital killers and criminals are possessed of not one but two Y chromosomes, bearing a double dose, as it were, of genetically undesirable maleness."

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"The misnamed "feminine" woman, so admired by her creator, man - the woman who is acquiescent in her inferiority and who has swallowed man's image of her as his ordained helpmate and no more - is in reality the "masculine" woman. The truly feminine woman "cannot help burning with that inner rage that comes from having to identify with her exploiter's negative image of her," and having to conform to her persecutor's idea of femininity and its man-decreed limitations."

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"So long has the myth of feminine inferiority prevailed that women themselves find it hard to believe that their own sex was once and for a very long time the superior and dominant sex."

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"In the new science of the twenty-first century, not physical force but spiritual force will lead the way. Mental and spiritual gifts will be more in demand than gifts of a physical nature. Extrasensory perception will take precedence over sensory perception. And in this sphere woman will again predominate."

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