--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me say one thing to clarify my…" description: "\"Let me say one thing to clarify my position. I think we can take distance from norm but I think we are also mired in norm, \"empêtrés\", I think you say ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/judith-butler-1374_certain_let-me-say-one-thing-to-clarify-my-posit_1866706.jpg" --- # Let me say one thing to clarify my position. I think we… ![“Let me say one thing to clarify my position. I think we can take distance from norm but I think we are also mired in norm, "empêtrés", I think you say in French. And I think the choices we can make are only in a certain struggle with the norms out of which we're constituted.” quote by Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/judith-butler-1374_certain_let-me-say-one-thing-to-clarify-my-posit_1866706.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/judith-butler-1374_certain_let-me-say-one-thing-to-clarify-my-posit_1866706.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/judith-butler-1374_certain_let-me-say-one-thing-to-clarify-my-posit_1866706.jpg) > “Let me say one thing to clarify my position. I think we can take distance from norm but I think we are also mired in norm, "empêtrés", I think you say in French. And I think the choices we can make are only in a certain struggle with the norms out of which we're constituted.” [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are both shaped by and can resist societal norms, but our choices are constrained by those very structures. **In simple terms:** Norms shape us, yet we can challenge them. Key Takeaway Recognize constraints, act within them. Themes norms agency structure Mood analytical critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - activism - policy making - personal decision making Key Concepts social theory critical theory Questions to Reflect On - What norms limit your choices? - How can you navigate within them? A Different Perspective Changing norms is slow and complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Empêtrés Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emp-tr-s-think-2548899/) [French Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/french-think-1134778/) [Let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-me/) [Norm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/norm/) [Norm Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/norm-think-2548901/) [Norms Constituted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/norms-constituted-2548900/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Norms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-norms-2548898/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It wasn't possible just to rid oneself, simply, of the norms through which one is constituted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/it-wasn-t-possible-just-to-rid-oneself-simply-of-the-norms-through/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Saul Bellow says, funny enough, what French think of your work is tremendously important. And it is. It's more than what the Italians, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/saul-bellow-says-funny-enough-what-french-think-of-your-work-is/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I really have no idea what the French think of my characters, or why The Devil All the Time did so well there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/i-really-have-no-idea-what-the-french-think-of-my-characters-or-why/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) > [What must the English and French think of the language of our philosophers when we Germans do not understand it ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-must-the-english-and-french-think-of-the-language-of-our/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“It is important to understand that in the modern world we prefer the replica to the original because it gives us the greater frisson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/it-is-important-to-understand-that-in-the-modern-world-we-prefer-the/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I really want to learn French so I think it would be great to go and live in France and maybe learn the language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-virtue/i-really-want-to-learn-french-so-i-think-it-would-be-great-to-go-and/) [Tessa Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-virtue/) > [Speak in French when you can't think of the English for a thing. Turn out your toes as you walk. And remember who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/speak-in-french-when-you-can-t-think-of-the-english-for-a-thing-turn-2/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [I don't speak a word of French but often think that what should be a handicap is actually a godsend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-don-t-speak-a-word-of-french-but-often-think-that-what-should-be-a/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [“This is what you British do not understand about the French. You think you must work, work, work, work and open on Sundays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-colgan/this-is-what-you-british-do-not-understand-about-the-french-you-think/) [Jenny Colgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-colgan/) > [I love the French very much, and I think they know that. I've been adopted here. They treat me as one of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-birkin/i-love-the-french-very-much-and-i-think-they-know-that-i-ve-been/) [Jane Birkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-birkin/) > [“We English have no very strong attachment to the soil, we can make ourselves at home in any part of the world, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/we-english-have-no-very-strong-attachment-to-the-soil-we-can-make/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The French, I think, in general, are strangely prolix in their natural history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-white/the-french-i-think-in-general-are-strangely-prolix-in-their-natural/) [Gilbert White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-white/) > [Speak in French when you can’t think of the English for a thing-- turn your toes out when you walk--- And remember who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/speak-in-french-when-you-can-t-think-of-the-english-for-a-thing-turn/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [I don’t like water. I drink Diet Coke. Nor do I smoke, or drink alcohol or even sip a café. I don’t look after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-alt/i-don-t-like-water-i-drink-diet-coke-nor-do-i-smoke-or-drink-alcohol/) [Emmanuelle Alt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-alt/) > [I think the French agonise more about being French, I don't think English think about being English that much. I think the Scottish think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-meades/i-think-the-french-agonise-more-about-being-french-i-don-t-think/) [Jonathan Meades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-meades/) ## More by Judith Butler > [I don't think we have to have a personal relation to a life lost to understand that something terrible has taken place, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-don-t-think-we-have-to-have-a-personal-relation-to-a-life-lost-to/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [We need a legal and political understanding of the right of the refugee, whereby no solution for one group produces a new class of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/we-need-a-legal-and-political-understanding-of-the-right-of-the/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [When we say gender is performed, we usually mean that we've taken on a role or we're acting in some way and that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/when-we-say-gender-is-performed-we-usually-mean-that-we-ve-taken-on-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Cameras help to minimize collateral damage, and very often, without a camera a missile cannot fire. 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But I think it would be a mistake if the sexual harassment law movement is the only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/sexual-harassment-law-is-very-important-but-i-think-it-would-be-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Genocide is not a legitimate option. It's not ok to decide that an entire population has no right to live in the world. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/genocide-is-not-a-legitimate-option-it-s-not-ok-to-decide-that-an/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“Let's face it. We're undone by each other. And if we're not, we're missing something. If this seems so clearly the case with grief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/let-s-face-it-we-re-undone-by-each-other-and-if-we-re-not-we-re/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [The pleasurable part of public mourning can also lead to a sense of self-sanctification that justifies in advance any war effort, whether or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/the-pleasurable-part-of-public-mourning-can-also-lead-to-a-sense-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“That the power regimes of heterosexism and phallogocentrism seek to augment themselves through a constant repetition of their logic, their metaphysic, and their naturalized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/that-the-power-regimes-of-heterosexism-and-phallogocentrism-seek-to/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [I think that public grieving is a good thing. People need to be grieved; loss needs to be acknowledged publicly, because it helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-think-that-public-grieving-is-a-good-thing-people-need-to-be/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Maybe we need to start with the rethinking of what is "west" and what is "non-west." It seems to me that there are any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/maybe-we-need-to-start-with-the-rethinking-of-what-is-west-and-what/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [It will not do to say that international law is the enemy of the Jewish people, since the Jewish people surely did not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/it-will-not-do-to-say-that-international-law-is-the-enemy-of-the/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) [Explore all 248 Judith Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. 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