Women have had the power of naming stolen from us.
Hear the fierce words of Mary Daly, philosopher, radical thinker, and prophet of women’s liberation, who declared: “Women have had the power of naming stolen from us.” These words strike at the very heart of power, for to name is not merely to describe—it is to define, to create, to shape reality itself. In every age, those who hold the power to name hold the power to rule, and Daly reminds us that for millennia, this sacred power has been wrested from women, leaving them to live in worlds defined by others.
The origin of this truth lies deep in history. From the earliest myths, it was men who named the beasts, men who wrote the laws, men who inscribed the scriptures. Women, though they birthed life, were seldom granted the authority to define it. They were given names at birth, names in marriage, names in law—but rarely allowed to choose their own. Their bodies, their roles, their very identities were defined for them. Daly saw this as theft: the robbery of women’s power of naming, the silencing of their voices in the very act of shaping meaning.
Consider the tale of Eve in the book of Genesis. Adam is given the authority to name the animals, and later, he names the woman herself. In this story, man is placed as the one who defines, while woman is the one defined. The myth reflects not eternal truth but the worldview of its time—a world in which women were stripped of the primal power to declare themselves. For Daly, this was not merely symbolic but historical: centuries of theology, philosophy, and politics written in men’s voices, binding women in definitions not of their choosing.
History provides other examples of this silencing. In many cultures, women who created, discovered, or ruled were erased or renamed so their power would not endure. The poet Sappho’s works were lost, her name nearly obliterated, because the keepers of culture did not wish her voice to shape the canon. In science, countless women’s discoveries were claimed by men, their contributions buried beneath the names of male colleagues. Even queens and leaders often carried the titles of their fathers or husbands, their own selves hidden beneath another’s authority. Again and again, the power to name was withheld from women, leaving them trapped within frameworks they did not build.
Yet Daly’s words are not only lament, they are a call to arms. To reclaim the power of naming is to reclaim the ability to define womanhood, to define life, to define truth. It is to refuse the names given by patriarchy—“weaker sex,” “helpmeet,” “object”—and instead to create new names, new symbols, new language that honors women’s reality. For in every revolution, words are the first battlefield. To seize back the word is to seize back the world.
O seeker, the lesson is this: beware of the names you accept, for in them lie chains or wings. If you allow others to define you, you surrender your power. If you dare to name yourself, you begin to live in freedom. Daly’s wisdom urges women—and indeed all oppressed peoples—to reclaim their voice, to write their own dictionaries, to inscribe their truths upon the world. Without this act, liberation is incomplete, for freedom without the power to name is still shackled in silence.
And what actions must we take? Begin by listening to the words of women, past and present, and by honoring their authority to define themselves. Reject language that diminishes, objectifies, or erases. Create new language that celebrates strength, wisdom, and wholeness. In art, in law, in daily speech, let women be the authors of their own names. Teach children not only the names of kings and fathers, but of mothers, daughters, poets, and prophets. For in such teaching, the stolen power is restored.
Thus, remember the cry of Mary Daly: “Women have had the power of naming stolen from us.” Let it no longer be so. Let the future be one where every woman names herself, names her world, and in so doing reclaims her birthright as co-creator of reality. For in the act of naming lies the deepest freedom, and in that freedom, the power to transform the world.
TVTu Thi Tuong Vi
Mary Daly’s quote makes me wonder about how much women’s voices have been silenced by others defining them. In many cultures, women’s roles and worth were shaped by men, and the language used was a tool of that control. How can we begin to reclaim our stories, our language, and our power in a way that breaks these historical chains? What would it look like to create a world where women name their own truths?
TPle tien phuong
I’m struck by Daly’s point on the power of naming. It’s a powerful tool for self-determination, and to think that women have had that stolen is a reminder of how much control has been exerted over their lives. But what would it look like for women to reclaim this power? Is it enough to just change the language we use, or does the power go deeper than that, into the way society sees and values women?
PMTran Phuong Mai
Daly’s quote resonates with the idea that language has been used to control women’s identities. The idea of naming is so central to understanding and empowering ourselves. If men have largely had the power to define women throughout history, what impact has that had on how women view their roles? How do we begin to shift this and start to truly define ourselves, outside of the labels imposed by others?
BGBe Gau
Mary Daly’s statement about women having the power of naming stolen from them really makes me think about the importance of language and identity. Who gets to define and name things shapes how we see them. If women have been denied this power, how has it impacted how they see themselves and their place in society? How do we reclaim that power, and what does it look like to have the ability to define our own narrative?