Male dominance in society always means that out of public sight, in the private, ahistorical world of men with women, men are sexually dominating women.
Andrea DworkinRead
Institutionalised in sports, the military, acculturated sexuality, the history and mythology of heroism, violence is taught to boys until they becomes its advocates.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how societal institutions condition boys to embrace and promote violence as a norm.
Andrea Dworkin's quote critiques the way boys are systematically indoctrinated into accepting violence through various cultural institutions such as sports, the military, and societal expectations around masculinity. This conditioning transforms them into advocates for violence, reflecting a broader commentary on the socialization of gender roles and the implications of a culture that valorizes aggression and dominance.
Themes
ViolenceMasculinitySocializationCultureAdvocacy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about gender roles, this quote can be used to highlight the influence of societal norms on behavior.
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I have been asked, politely and not so politely, why I am myself. This is an accounting any woman will be called on to give if she asserts her will.
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We are born into a world in which sexual possibilities are narrowly circumscribed. . . . We are programmed by the culture as surely as rats are programmed to make the arduous way through the scientist's maze, and that programming operates on every level of choice and action.
Andrea DworkinRead
In her heart she is a mourner for those who have not survived. In her soul she is a warrior for those who are now as she was then. In her life she is both celebrant and proof of women's capacity and will to survive, to become, to act, to change self and society. And each year she is stronger and there are more of her.
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Being stigmatied by sex is being marked by its meaning in a human life of loneliness and imperfection, where some pain is indelible.
Andrea DworkinRead
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