--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being frozen into the passive position of…" description: "\"Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder turn the educated modern Western women into..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg" --- # Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose… ![“Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder turn the educated modern Western women into a harem slave.” quote by Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg) > “Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder turn the educated modern Western women into a harem slave.” [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women are reduced to objects whose value is determined by male gaze, turning them into passive, enslaved figures in modern Western society. **In simple terms:** Women become objects judged by others, losing agency. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist objectifying narratives. Themes gender power objectification colonialism modernity Mood critical reflective Type analytical feminist When to use this quote - media analysis - personal relationships - cultural critique - education - activism Key Concepts Patriarchal gaze social construction identity agency feminist theory Questions to Reflect On - How does gaze shape self‑perception? - In what ways can women reclaim agency? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize Western women’s experiences and ignore diverse agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Harem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harem/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [“You are my Avis,” he said, “and you are also some one else. You are two women, and therefore you are my harem. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/you-are-my-avis-he-said-and-you-are-also-some-one-else-you-are-two/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [One cannot understand what's happening to women in the Middle East if they don't realize that the mothers are a strong, progressive force. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/one-cannot-understand-what-s-happening-to-women-in-the-middle-east-if/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [Western women have been controlled by ideals and stereotypes as much as by material constraints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/western-women-have-been-controlled-by-ideals-and-stereotypes-as-much/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [The world will be changed by western women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-world-will-be-changed-by-western-women/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“If single Western women travelers have a hard time in Luxor, it is as nothing as compared to what single Western men have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/if-single-western-women-travelers-have-a-hard-time-in-luxor-it-is-as/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [Western women have been a pretty tame lot - dressed in gingham dresses and consigned to hand-wringing back at the ranch, while the hero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-blake/western-women-have-been-a-pretty-tame-lot-dressed-in-gingham-dresses/) [Amanda Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-blake/) > [“But Egyptian men would do well to learn that they should treat others as they would be treated themselves. For many of them, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/but-egyptian-men-would-do-well-to-learn-that-they-should-treat-others/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [“Some western women stop breastfeeding early ‘for the marriage’s sake’, as though a physical bond with the baby prevents a happy sex life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/some-western-women-stop-breastfeeding-early-for-the-marriage-s-sake/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [We think that maybe feminism isn't appropriate anymore, since Western women have really made enormous strides. But check out the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/we-think-that-maybe-feminism-isn-t-appropriate-anymore-since-western/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [“What good is it to be a mere woman?” cried Esma, throwing her head back on the embroidered silk cushion. “To be married and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-lafferty/what-good-is-it-to-be-a-mere-woman-cried-esma-throwing-her-head-back/) [Linda Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-lafferty/) > [“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-but-spiritual/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I shall have to drink poi­son if we are taken cap­tive and forced to live in a harem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-lael-miller/i-shall-have-to-drink-poi-son-if-we-are-taken-cap-tive-and-forced-to/) [Linda Lael Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-lael-miller/) > [“Our brain is a circuit board with neurons and terminals ready to be wired. We are born free, then programmed to obey our parents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/our-brain-is-a-circuit-board-with-neurons-and-terminals-ready-to-be/) [Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/) > [“What the hell are you three doing?" I clutch my chest and try to calm my heart. I had asked for privacy. "We felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-miles/what-the-hell-are-you-three-doing-i-clutch-my-chest-and-try-to-calm/) [Rory Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-miles/) > [“She raised her eyebrows, looping her hands around his neck and wriggling provocatively. 'Looks like I've just been promoted to Alpha then, huh?' Lucien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/she-raised-her-eyebrows-looping-her-hands-around-his-neck-and/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) ## More by Fatema Mernissi > [“If your idea disturbs a conservative man, hang onto it," I said to myself. "It will probably lead to important discoveries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/if-your-idea-disturbs-a-conservative-man-hang-onto-it-i-said-to/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [Morocco is such a beautiful place. It's incredibly beautiful. And also it is captivating place because for a writer, you feel that you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/morocco-is-such-a-beautiful-place-it-s-incredibly-beautiful-and-also/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [“Once I asked Mina why she danced so smoothly while most of the other women made abrupt, jerky movements, and she said that many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/once-i-asked-mina-why-she-danced-so-smoothly-while-most-of-the-other/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [One cannot understand what's happening to women in the Middle East if they don't realize that the mothers are a strong, progressive force. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/one-cannot-understand-what-s-happening-to-women-in-the-middle-east-if/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [By putting the spotlight on the female child and framing her as the ideal of beauty, he condemns the mature woman to invisibility. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/by-putting-the-spotlight-on-the-female-child-and-framing-her-as-the/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [I am intelligent enough to be critical towards the West and take what I need and reject what is bad for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/i-am-intelligent-enough-to-be-critical-towards-the-west-and-take-what/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [Maturity is when you start feeling the motion of zaman (time) as if it is a sensuous caress. p.216](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/maturity-is-when-you-start-feeling-the-motion-of-zaman-time-as-if-it/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [“Mothers should tell little girls and boys about the importance of dreams,' Aunt Habiba said. 'They give a sense direction. It is not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/mothers-should-tell-little-girls-and-boys-about-the-importance-of/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [Someone else is going to read for me or go at my place to the mosque, and/or to tell me you shouldn't take anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/someone-else-is-going-to-read-for-me-or-go-at-my-place-to-the-mosque/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [I, as a Muslim woman living in 1993, I want to have two things - the mosque and the satellite, both at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/i-as-a-muslim-woman-living-in-1993-i-want-to-have-two-things-the/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [The most precious gift God gave humans is reason. Its best use is the search for knowledge. To know the human environment, to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/the-most-precious-gift-god-gave-humans-is-reason-its-best-use-is-the/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) > [The real mistake of women was to let the memoir, the collective, the history, space of producing history - to let it in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/the-real-mistake-of-women-was-to-let-the-memoir-the-collective-the/) [Fatema Mernissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) [Explore all 13 Fatema Mernissi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/) ## More Beholder quotes > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“All in the eye of the beholder - Some of the most destructive forces in the world (Fire & Water), can also have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-r-lemieux/all-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-some-of-the-most-destructive-forces-in/) [Martin R. Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-r-lemieux/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [In images,... beauty was the agency that caused visual pleasure in the beholder; and any theory of images that was not grounded in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/in-images-beauty-was-the-agency-that-caused-visual-pleasure-in-the/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [Good art is in the wallet of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-lette/good-art-is-in-the-wallet-of-the-beholder/) [Kathy Lette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-lette/) > [Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mere-bashfulness-without-merit-is-awkward-and-merit-without-modesty/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The American Beauty Rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/the-american-beauty-rose-can-be-produced-in-the-splendor-and/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-most-liberating-thing-about-beauty-is-realizing-you-are-the/) Senoraroy > [Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist-does-it-s-not-the-medium-or/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So my only hope is that when I fall in love, find my one, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaymin-eve/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-so-my-only-hope-is-that-when-i/) [Jaymin Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaymin-eve/) > [They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I find it's often in huge tits, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-wilkerson/they-say-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-but-i-find-it-s-often/) [Brad Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-wilkerson/) > [Beauty is often worse than wine; intoxicating both the holder and beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zimmerman/beauty-is-often-worse-than-wine-intoxicating-both-the-holder-and/) [John Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zimmerman/) > [The spring without a leaf to toss, bare and bright like a virgin fierce in her chastity, scornful in her purity, was laid out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-spring-without-a-leaf-to-toss-bare-and-bright-like-a-virgin/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) Browse all 211 Beholder quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder turn the educated modern Western women into a harem slave.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fatema Mernissi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-of-an-object-whose-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beholder" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-of-an-object-whose-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/fatema-mernissi-28286_beholder_being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-o_1116154.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder…” — Fatema Mernissi", "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": "Fatema Mernissi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatema-mernissi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being frozen into the passive position...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-of-an-object-whose-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatema-mernissi/being-frozen-into-the-passive-position-of-an-object-whose-very/#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 } } ] } ```