On rare occasions one does hear of a miraculous case of a married couple falling in love after marriage, but on close examination it will be found that it is a mere adjustment to the inevitable.
Emma GoldmanRead
To the moralist prostitution does not consist so much in the fact that the woman sells her body, but rather that she sells it out of wedlock.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the moral debate surrounding prostitution, focusing on the context of marital versus non-marital relationships.
Emma Goldman's quote emphasizes that the moral issues surrounding prostitution are not solely about the act of selling one's body, but rather about the societal norms related to marriage and morality. It suggests that the stigma attached to prostitution stems more from the concept of it occurring outside of a sanctioned marital relationship than the act itself. This perspective challenges traditional moral views and invites a deeper discussion on the nature of consent, autonomy, and societal norms regarding sexuality.
Themes
ProstitutionMoralityWedlockSocietyFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about sexual ethics, one might use this quote to argue against the stigmatization of sex work.
More from Emma Goldman
All quotes βNo one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
Emma GoldmanRead
To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character.
Emma GoldmanRead
John Burroughs has stated that experimental study of animals in captivity is absolutely useless. Their character, their habits, their appetites undergo a complete transformation when torn from their soil in field and forest. With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?
Emma GoldmanRead
Anarchism is the only philosophy which brings to man the consciousness of himself; which maintains that God, the State, and society are non-existent, that their promises are null and void, since they can be fulfilled only through man's subordination.
Emma GoldmanRead
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Emma GoldmanRead
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