Woman Body Quote by Alexandra Kleeman
““A woman’s body never really belongs to herself. As an infant, my body was my mother’s, a detachable extension of her own, a digestive passage clamped and unclamped from her body. My parents would watch over it, watch over what went in and out of it, and as I grew up I would be expected to carry on their watching by myself. Then there was sex, and a succession of years in which I trawled my body along behind me like a drift net, hoping that I wouldn’t catch anything in it by accident, like a baby or a disease. I had kept myself free of these things only through clumsy accident and luck. At rare and specific moments when my body was truly my own, I never knew what to do with it.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: "The Gone World", 2018
Explores bodily autonomy and the lingering influence of others on self-identity
In simple terms: Body ownership is complex and contested
Key Takeaway
Assert personal agency over one's body
Themes
feminism
identity
autonomy
Mood
introspective
poignant
Type
literary
psychological
When to use this quote
- healthcare decisions
- personal boundaries
- creative writing
Key Concepts
bodily sovereignty
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reclaim ownership of your body?
- What role does society play in shaping bodily identity?
A Different Perspective
Societal norms can limit true autonomy
