--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was one thing to read about a society…" description: "\"“It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living in one.”\" — Emily Croy Barker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg" --- # It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with… ![“It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living in one.” quote by Emily Croy Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg) > ““It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living in one.”” Emily Croy Barker ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading about a purity‑obsessed society feels detached, but living within it forces confronting its oppressive realities. **In simple terms:** Theory vs. lived experience differ. Key Takeaway Question societal norms. Themes purity society oppression Mood critical empathetic Type social philosophical When to use this quote - activism - education - personal narrative Key Concepts feminist theory social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does purity pressure shape daily life? - What can individuals do to resist? A Different Perspective May generalize diverse experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Purity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purity/) ## Related quotes > [“The ability to read, society tells us, contributes to success in education, employment, and citizenship. Reading is a democratic craft. Writing, in contrast, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-peter-clark/the-ability-to-read-society-tells-us-contributes-to-success-in/) [Roy Peter Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-peter-clark/) > [Why should men arrogate to themselves the right to regulate female purity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/why-should-men-arrogate-to-themselves-the-right-to-regulate-female/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“In no other place had I ever seen female purity celebrated by a 355-foot phallic object. But maybe that was me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/in-no-other-place-had-i-ever-seen-female-purity-celebrated-by-a-355/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [“Society is obsessed with women's bodies and I take my body back by doing whatever it is that I want to do with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malebo-sephodi/society-is-obsessed-with-women-s-bodies-and-i-take-my-body-back-by/) [Malebo Sephodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malebo-sephodi/) > [We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/we-live-in-a-society-obsessed-with-public-opinion-but-leadership-has/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Our society is obsessed with personal rights, but it will survive only if we adopt personal obligations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/our-society-is-obsessed-with-personal-rights-but-it-will-survive-only/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obsessed-with-buying-and-selling-2/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property, it doesn't leave a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obsessed-with-buying-and-selling/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [In our society, to be obsessed with a vision about how to make a better automobile makes you a genius, but to be obsessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodger-kamenetz/in-our-society-to-be-obsessed-with-a-vision-about-how-to-make-a/) [Rodger Kamenetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodger-kamenetz/) > [“Not only has there never before been a society so obsessed with the cultural artifacts of its immediate past, but there has never before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-reynolds/not-only-has-there-never-before-been-a-society-so-obsessed-with-the/) [Simon Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-reynolds/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [So far as female beauty is concerned, the Circassian women have no superiors. They have preserved in their mountain home the purity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/so-far-as-female-beauty-is-concerned-the-circassian-women-have-no/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) ## More by Emily Croy Barker > [“Pick your path with intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/pick-your-path-with-intent/) Emily Croy Barker > [“Out of habit, she stopped by the bookshelf in the living room to see if there was a paperback that she could stuff into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/out-of-habit-she-stopped-by-the-bookshelf-in-the-living-room-to-see/) Emily Croy Barker Explore all 3 Emily Croy Barker quotes ## More Purity quotes > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [So far as female beauty is concerned, the Circassian women have no superiors. They have preserved in their mountain home the purity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/so-far-as-female-beauty-is-concerned-the-circassian-women-have-no/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [And their conviction is that if it is done with that kind of purity it will go somewhere. I believe that with all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-berrigan/and-their-conviction-is-that-if-it-is-done-with-that-kind-of-purity/) [Daniel Berrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-berrigan/) > [Winning has a joy and discrete purity to it that cannot be replaced by anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/winning-has-a-joy-and-discrete-purity-to-it-that-cannot-be-replaced/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [How great is the position of the man who is born of God, born of purity, born of faith, born of life, born of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smith-wigglesworth/how-great-is-the-position-of-the-man-who-is-born-of-god-born-of/) [Smith Wigglesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smith-wigglesworth/) > [In meditation you withdraw from others and focus your attention inside to gain purity of mind and wisdom energy. Then you must become extroverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-n-goenka/in-meditation-you-withdraw-from-others-and-focus-your-attention/) [S. N. Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-n-goenka/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Fasting is not bodily hunger but bodily elevation and purity. It is not a body that hungers and longs for food, but a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/fasting-is-not-bodily-hunger-but-bodily-elevation-and-purity-it-is/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [Purity in person and in morals is true godliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/purity-in-person-and-in-morals-is-true-godliness/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [“Poetry is pure thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/poetry-is-pure-thoughts/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Each restorational advancement of the Army of the Lord has established denominational forts that are given responsibility to maintain the purity and power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hamon/each-restorational-advancement-of-the-army-of-the-lord-has/) [Bill Hamon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hamon/) > [Among the principles of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah lie the attitude of peace and purity of their heart and tongue towards the Sahaba(Companions)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/among-the-principles-of-the-ahlus-sunnah-wal-jama-ah-lie-the-attitude/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) [Browse all 1,244 Purity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living in one.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Croy Barker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society-obsessed-with-female-purity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Purity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society-obsessed-with-female-purity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-croy-barker-74330_purity_it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society_2763152.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living…” — Emily Croy Barker", "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": "Emily Croy Barker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-croy-barker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was one thing to read...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society-obsessed-with-female-purity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society-obsessed-with-female-purity/#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 } } ] } ```