"I will choose what enters me, what becomes flesh of my flesh. Without choice, no politics, no ethics lives. I am not your cornfield, not your uranium mine, not your calf for fattening, not your cow for milking. You may not use me as your factory. Priests and legislators do not hold shares in my womb or my mind. If I give it to you, I want it back. My life is a non-negotiable demand!"
About this Quote
The metaphors are deliberately ugly because the systems she’s indicting are, too. “Cornfield,” “uranium mine,” “calf,” “cow,” “factory” turns the body into extractive property - agriculture, industry, energy, meat. It’s a rap sheet of how power talks when it thinks it’s being practical: bodies as resources, reproduction as production, sex as supply chain. Piercy’s refusal (“I am not…”) is a counter-spell against that language. Repetition works like a barricade.
Then she names the managers: priests and legislators. Not because they’re uniquely villainous, but because they specialize in moral authority and legal authority - the twin tools used to naturalize control. “Do not hold shares in my womb or my mind” is a brilliant corporate insult: if you’re claiming ownership, admit you’re doing business, not shepherding souls.
“If I give it to you, I want it back” widens the lens from abortion to consent broadly, insisting that even chosen intimacy doesn’t dissolve the self. The last line refuses compromise culture. “Non-negotiable” is the vocabulary of labor strikes and civil rights: the body is not a bargaining chip; it’s the stake.
Quote Details
| Topic | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Piercy, Marge. (2026, February 17). I will choose what enters me, what becomes flesh of my flesh. Without choice, no politics, no ethics lives. I am not your cornfield, not your uranium mine, not your calf for fattening, not your cow for milking. You may not use me as your factory. Priests and legislators do not hold shares in my womb or my mind. If I give it to you, I want it back. My life is a non-negotiable demand! FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-will-choose-what-enters-me-what-becomes-flesh-173643/
Chicago Style
Piercy, Marge. "I will choose what enters me, what becomes flesh of my flesh. Without choice, no politics, no ethics lives. I am not your cornfield, not your uranium mine, not your calf for fattening, not your cow for milking. You may not use me as your factory. Priests and legislators do not hold shares in my womb or my mind. If I give it to you, I want it back. My life is a non-negotiable demand!" FixQuotes. February 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-will-choose-what-enters-me-what-becomes-flesh-173643/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I will choose what enters me, what becomes flesh of my flesh. Without choice, no politics, no ethics lives. I am not your cornfield, not your uranium mine, not your calf for fattening, not your cow for milking. You may not use me as your factory. Priests and legislators do not hold shares in my womb or my mind. If I give it to you, I want it back. My life is a non-negotiable demand!" FixQuotes, 17 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-will-choose-what-enters-me-what-becomes-flesh-173643/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
