Fact Check: William Golding Said Women Are Superior to Men — But Not That They Make Whatever They're Given Greater, as Viral Quote Alleges
Claim:
Author William Golding said: "I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been. Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will give you a home. If you give her groceries, she will give you a meal. If you give her a smile she will give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit!"
Rating:
Context:
The first two sentences of the quote are indeed from Golding. However, there is no evidence for him making the rest of the quote. Author Erick S. Gray reportedly is the source of the rest of the quote.
For years, claims have spread across social media that Sir William Gerald Golding — the Nobel Prize-winning writer best known for his 1954 novel "Lord of the Flies" — said he thought it was foolish for women to pretend they were equal to men because they actually were far superior.
"Brilliant!," a Facebook post from May 2024 said. The post had a screenshot attached showing the alleged quote, which read:
I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been. Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will give you a home. If you give her groceries, she will give you a meal. If you give her a smile she will give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of sh*t!
We found other social media posts that contained the quote attributed to Golding on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X. We also found the quote published in at least one book as well as a Medium article.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4bhsB1Py57
We rate the claim that Golding said these words as "Mixed," as we found no evidence he made the quote beyond its first two sentences.
We previously fact-checked the first part of the quote in 2016. We found Golding saying the opening of the quote in a YouTube video where he discussed the origins and meaning of "Lord of the Flies." His full remarks can be heard here:
However, we found no video clip — or news article, or any other legitimate source for that matter — that legitimately connected Golding to the rest of the quote.
Fact-checking organization Africa Check found author Erick S. Gray was the person behind the rest of the viral quote, publishing his first book a decade after Golding died in 1993. We reached out to Gray's production company to confirm the rest of the quote came from him and will update this fact-check if we hear back.
We've fact-checked other quotes attributed to famous figures, like whether U.S. President Joe Biden said he almost wanted to buy a Bible "just to see what the hell's in it."
Sources:
AbecedariusRex. Golding's Introduction to Lord of the Flies. 2010. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnfSV27vLY.
"Golding Quote Mixed up with Words by 21st Century Writer." Africa Check, 0707-2929 2019, https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/golding-quote-mixed-words-21st-century-writer.
Liles, Jordan. "Did Biden Say of the Bible, 'I Almost Wanted to Buy One Just to See What the Hell's in It'?" Snopes, 26 Apr. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/biden-trump-bible-quote/.
Mikkelson, David. "Did Author William Golding Say That 'Women Are Far Superior' to Men?" Snopes, 25 May 2016, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/william-golding-on-women/.
