Fortunately analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist.
Karen HorneyRead
The view that women are infantile and emotional creatures, and as such, incapable of responsibility and independence is the work of the masculine tendency to lower women's self-respect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the perception of women as childish and overly emotional, emphasizing that such views undermine women's independence and self-worth.
Karen Horney highlights the societal tendency to belittle women by portraying them as immature and overly emotional, consequently stripping them of their agency and responsibility. This perspective reflects a broader issue of patriarchal attitudes that aim to diminish women's self-respect, suggesting that such views are not only harmful to women but also detrimental to societal progress as a whole.
Themes
WomenEmpowermentSelf-RespectGenderIndependencePatriarchy
In practice
Example use cases
During a women's rights rally, to emphasize the need for empowerment: 'As Karen Horney points out, the view that women lack independence diminishes their self-respect.'
More from Karen Horney
All quotes →The searching for our selves is the most agonizing, isn't it? - and yet the most stimulating - and one simply cannot escape it.
Karen HorneyRead
The psychology of women hitherto actually represents a deposit of the desires and disappointments of men.
Karen HorneyRead
No one … can entirely step out of his time, that despite his keenness of vision his thinking is in many ways bound to be influenced by the mentality of his time
Karen HorneyRead
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