Bette Davis, The Lonely Life: An Autobiography (1962), p. 251; quoted in part by Walter Winchell in "Pass the Worm Pills" Cincinnati Enquirer (January 20, 1963) and Liz Smith in "'Postman' Bares a Stamp of Sex," Daily News (1980), and by Davis herself—as simply "Sex is God's joke on human beings."—in This 'n' That (1987), p. 67
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The act of sex, gratifying though it may be, is God's joke on humanity. It is man's last desperate stand at superintendency. The whole ritual is a grotesque anachronism, an outdated testament to man's waning power. It's all we've got and so we make the best of it. It is not, however, sufficient reason for matrimony.

— Bette Davis on Human sexual activity

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The act of sex, gratifying though it may be, is God's joke on humanity. It is man's last desperate stand at superintendency. The whole ritual is a grotesque anachronism, an outdated testament to man's waning power. It's all we've got and so we make the best of it. It is not, however, sufficient reason for matrimony." in the context of "Bette Davis, The Lonely Life: An Autobiography (1962), p. 251; quoted in part by Walter Winchell in "Pass the Worm Pills" Cincinnati Enquirer (January 20, 1963) and Liz Smith in "'Postman' Bares a Stamp of Sex," Daily News (1980), and by Davis herself—as simply "Sex is God's joke on human beings."—in This 'n' That (1987), p. 67" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Human sexual activity" (D) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bette Davis

About Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. Known for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her best remembered films are romantic dramas. In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.