A culture fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.
Naomi WolfRead
It is never smart, even in a strong democracy, to declare some debate off limits. In a weakening democracy it is catastrophic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Debate should always be encouraged, as avoiding certain topics can harm democratic discourse.
Naomi Wolf emphasizes the importance of open debate in a democratic society. She warns that declaring certain subjects as off-limits stifles discussion, which is essential for a healthy democracy, and can lead to severe consequences when democracy is already under pressure.
Themes
DemocracyDebateDiscussionFreedomCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a political debate to emphasize the importance of discussing all issues.
More from Naomi Wolf
All quotes →Looking back on 200 years of feminist agitation in this country, we've got to get it that the moral high ground doesn't get us anything. Pleading with powerful men never gets us what we need. Talking doesn't do it. Being right doesn't do it. Hardball politics does it ... and a political strategy.
Naomi WolfRead
The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon them.
Naomi WolfRead
The woman wins who calls herself beautiful, and challenges the world to change to fit her vision.
Naomi WolfRead
The beauty myth moves for men as a mirage; its power lies in its ever-receding nature. When the gap is closed, the lover embraces only his own disillusion.
Naomi WolfRead
Our society does reward beauty on the outside over health on the inside. Women must not be blamed for choosing short-term beauty "fixes" that harm our long-term health, since our life spans are inverted under the beauty myth, and there is no great social or economic incentive for women to live a long time.
Naomi WolfRead
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