The contrast comes from Atwood’s “Writing the Male Character” (1982), where she reports answers from a male friend and women students. The familiar two-sentence maxim is a later condensation; QI credits Atwood’s underlying account and documents a concise 1984 version by Ingrid Koenig.
“Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them” Condensed from Margaret Atwood’s reported conversation in “Writing the Male Character” (1982); the familiar two-sentence form is not verbatim from the original account. · Verbatim: “They’re afraid women will laugh at them. […] They’re afraid of being killed.”
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In context
Evoking the themes of courage, justice and love. Theme: "Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
The source
Underlying account
Writing the Male Character, 1982
Publication
This Magazine, September 1982; reprinted in Second Words, p. 413
Wording distinction
The headline compresses reported answers into a general maxim
They’re afraid women will laugh at them. […] They’re afraid of being killed.
QI’s chronology ↗ documents Atwood’s 1982 passage and Koenig’s 1984 shortening, and concludes that Atwood deserves credit.
Wikiquote ↗ reproduces the longer reported conversation; the publisher ↗ confirms the collection’s original 1982 publication, not the quotation’s exact words.
The underlying English essay dates from 1982, and the compact saying is a later adaptation. Only short identifying fragments are reproduced; the ellipsis marks separation between two responses, not a continuous original sentence.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
A compression of Atwood’s reported conversation
The original attribution survives, but the wording and speakers need qualification.
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Wording comparison: Margaret Atwood
QI ↗ credits her account while documenting the later concise form.
✓Credit Atwood’s 1982 account and label the familiar wording a condensation.
Context
Why it mattered
Atwood begins by asking a male friend why men feel threatened by women, then puts the corresponding question to women students. The contrasting replies expose a difference in the kinds of consequences each group anticipates.
The compact form makes that difference memorable but removes the question-and-answer setting. Preserving Atwood’s credit for the account does not require pretending she wrote the exact modern two-sentence version or that the reported speakers were fictional characters.
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Margaret Atwood writes fiction, poetry and critical essays, with recurring attention to gender, power and the stories societies tell about themselves. Her nonfiction collection Second Words brings together two decades of literary criticism and commentary.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Atwood, Margaret. “Writing the Male Character.” This Magazine 16, no. 4 (September 1982): 4; reprinted in Second Words (1982), 413. Passage and condensed-form history documented by Quote Investigator; original print pages not independently inspected.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/men-are-afraid-women-will-laugh-at-them-women-are-afraid/