Thomas Aquinas — "The female is a misbegotten male."
The female is a misbegotten male.
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More from Thomas Aquinas
"Beware the man of a single book."
"Concupiscence is a disorder of the appetite."
"It is lawful to take usury from Jews."
"The intellect is perfected by truth, and the will by good."
"The natural order of things requires that women be subject to men."
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Rooted in Aristotelian biology, this expresses the idea that biological femaleness results from a deficiency in natural generation — that maleness is the intended developmental template. The female body is framed as an incomplete or deviated form of the male. In modern terms, it encapsulates ancient biological determinism that treats men as the human norm and women as a departure from that standard.
Relevance to Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas was a 13th-century Dominican friar who synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology — known as Scholasticism. He drew heavily on Aristotle's biological and metaphysical works, including flawed ancient biology. While Aquinas affirmed the spiritual equality of male and female souls, he incorporated Aristotle's hierarchical gender views into his natural theology, reinforcing women's subordinate role in Church and civil life.
The era
In 13th-century medieval Europe, Aristotle's works were being reintroduced through Arabic translations, reshaping scholastic intellectual life. Women were excluded from universities, the clergy, and most public roles. Church doctrine and Aristotelian natural philosophy mutually reinforced gender hierarchy. Aquinas wrote at the height of Scholasticism, when synthesizing ancient Greek biology with Catholic theology was standard — meaning Aristotle's flawed biological claims carried direct theological weight.
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