--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my profession, I'm around a lot of…" description: "\"In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies are their instruments in one way or another.\" — Anna Deavere Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png" --- # In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies… ![“In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies are their instruments in one way or another.” quote by Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png) > “In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies are their instruments in one way or another.” [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many professions treat the human body as a tool, highlighting the need for respect and care. **In simple terms:** Bodies are used as instruments in work. Key Takeaway Treat bodies with respect and care. Themes body work respect Mood reflective empathetic Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - healthcare - performing arts - sports - manual labor Key Concepts ethics humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance utility and dignity? - What practices protect bodily integrity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on utility can dehumanize individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [People own their own bodies and have the absolute right to put anything they want into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ver/people-own-their-own-bodies-and-have-the-absolute-right-to-put/) [Roger Ver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ver/) > [“It was as if Goldfinger had been put together with bits of other people’s bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/it-was-as-if-goldfinger-had-been-put-together-with-bits-of-other/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [As actors, our bodies are our instruments - it is what we have - and so we have to be able to use our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/as-actors-our-bodies-are-our-instruments-it-is-what-we-have-and-so-we/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [We are slowed down sound and light waves, a walking bundle of frequencies tuned into the cosmos. We are souls dressed up in sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/we-are-slowed-down-sound-and-light-waves-a-walking-bundle-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [When we talk about violence, we're talking about the destruction of the human body, and I don't lose sight of that. In general, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/when-we-talk-about-violence-we-re-talking-about-the-destruction-of/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [I'll never, never understand why people think it's their business to comment on other people's bodies. I go to a spa in LA sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/i-ll-never-never-understand-why-people-think-it-s-their-business-to/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [The music goes into people in a totally different way than words. There's air, there's the sound of words, there's touch, there's music. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirah/the-music-goes-into-people-in-a-totally-different-way-than-words/) [Mirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirah/) > [I knew that I would know more dead people. The bodies pile up. Could there be a space in my memory for each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-knew-that-i-would-know-more-dead-people-the-bodies-pile-up-could/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Never get behind old people. 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Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Anna Deavere Smith > [I feel like my work has been my path to freedom from having grown up in a segregated environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-feel-like-my-work-has-been-my-path-to-freedom-from-having-grown-up/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Identity is an assemblage of constellations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/identity-is-an-assemblage-of-constellations/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I think some of our most talented people are not going to pick the arts as a way that they're going to spend their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-think-some-of-our-most-talented-people-are-not-going-to-pick-the/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I mean, I think that - as an actress, in particular, I'm basically a fool, and I see the world upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-mean-i-think-that-as-an-actress-in-particular-i-m-basically-a-fool/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [The American idea is as promising, imaginative, and full of the unexpected as the land itself. 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It’s also about the kind of body parts you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/discrimination-is-not-just-racial-now-it-s-also-about-the-kind-of/) [Yudhanjaya Wijeratne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/) > [I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-schneiderman/i-would-be-a-traitor-to-these-poor-burned-bodies-if-i-came-here-to/) [Rose Schneiderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-schneiderman/) > [“When bodies talk, a hand brushing across a face declares love the tongue never speaks. When bodies talk, eyes make promises and lips keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-payton/when-bodies-talk-a-hand-brushing-across-a-face-declares-love-the/) [Stella Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-payton/) > [“Dead bodies. Dead bodies. Lots of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-field/dead-bodies-dead-bodies-lots-of-them/) [Elle Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-field/) > [“One will in two minds, one heart in two bodies, and two bodies in one flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pettie/one-will-in-two-minds-one-heart-in-two-bodies-and-two-bodies-in-one/) George Pettie > [Angels do not have bodies in the traditional sense, but they have etheric forms that we can feel. Most of us are feeling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/angels-do-not-have-bodies-in-the-traditional-sense-but-they-have/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [“these hips are big hips. they need space to move around in. they don't fit into little petty places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/these-hips-are-big-hips-they-need-space-to-move-around-in-they-don-t/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [Our bodies are molded rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/our-bodies-are-molded-rivers/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) Browse all 496 Bodies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies are their instruments in one way or another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Deavere Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-people-whose-bodies-are-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bodies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-people-whose-bodies-are-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/anna-deavere-smith-4847_bodies_in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-peo_652790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In my profession, I'm around a lot of people whose bodies are their instruments in one way or another.” — Anna Deavere Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Deavere Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In my profession, I'm around a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-people-whose-bodies-are-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/in-my-profession-i-m-around-a-lot-of-people-whose-bodies-are-their/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```