--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The boundary between expert and amateur…" description: "\"The boundary between expert and amateur was an imposed social-cultural \"protection\" which actually exposed a number of women to a fatal disease, becaus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/laura-mullen-16442_book_the-boundary-between-expert-and-amateur_271418.jpg" --- # The boundary between expert and amateur was an imposed… ![“The boundary between expert and amateur was an imposed social-cultural "protection" which actually exposed a number of women to a fatal disease, because decaying matter, as the fireman said of fire (cited in the book's final piece, "Torch Song") "ain't got no rules on it."” quote by Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/laura-mullen-16442_book_the-boundary-between-expert-and-amateur_271418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/laura-mullen-16442_book_the-boundary-between-expert-and-amateur_271418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/laura-mullen-16442_book_the-boundary-between-expert-and-amateur_271418.jpg) > “The boundary between expert and amateur was an imposed social-cultural "protection" which actually exposed a number of women to a fatal disease, because decaying matter, as the fireman said of fire (cited in the book's final piece, "Torch Song") "ain't got no rules on it."” [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal norms can unintentionally endanger vulnerable groups by imposing restrictive labels that hide real risks. **In simple terms:** Rules can hide danger for those labeled as amateurs. Key Takeaway Question and revise harmful social protections. Themes gender health social constructs risk vulnerability Mood concerned critical Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - medical research - policy making - community outreach - education campaigns Key Concepts Feminist theory public health sociology Questions to Reflect On - How do we identify when a protection becomes a hazard? - What alternatives can protect without marginalizing? A Different Perspective Not all protections are beneficial; they may create blind spots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fireman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fireman/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [It seems all "protection" has to be monitored, considered, weighed and justified - I am suggesting we do that (but it's something Mary Shelley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/it-seems-all-protection-has-to-be-monitored-considered-weighed-and/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [But I'm not adverse to the idea of Torch Song as a musical. It would just be different. Because the play will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-fierstein/but-i-m-not-adverse-to-the-idea-of-torch-song-as-a-musical-it-would/) [Harvey Fierstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-fierstein/) > [One might say that "Torch Song" is, in part, about the urgency of the effort to pin things down and what wild dart throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/one-might-say-that-torch-song-is-in-part-about-the-urgency-of-the/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [You think I'm not a goddess? Try me. This is a torch song. Touch me and you'll burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-think-i-m-not-a-goddess-try-me-this-is-a-torch-song-touch-me-and/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In Torch Song, I did that character almost non-stop from 1978 until I made the movie in 1987. Then I had some failure, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-fierstein/in-torch-song-i-did-that-character-almost-non-stop-from-1978-until-i/) [Harvey Fierstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-fierstein/) > [I had another version of 'We Dance' that was kind of glam-rock. It was a little 'Taking Care of Business' mixed with Simon and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-had-another-version-of-we-dance-that-was-kind-of-glam-rock-it-was-a/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [“nothing is more opaque than absolute transparency. Look--my feet don't hit the marble! Like breath or a balloon, I'm rising, I hover six inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nothing-is-more-opaque-than-absolute-transparency-look-my-feet-don-t/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [When I'm struck by things, I want to hear more and find out more. 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Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-d-hull/) > [The torch of liberty is hot; warms those who hold it high; burns those who try to extinguish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-torch-of-liberty-is-hot-warms-those-who-hold-it-high-burns-those/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Ever hold your hand over a torch (sorry, a flashlight for you Americans).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/ever-hold-your-hand-over-a-torch-sorry-a-flashlight-for-you-americans/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [The constant man loses not his virtue in misfortune. A torch may point towards the ground, but its flame will still point upwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhartrhari/the-constant-man-loses-not-his-virtue-in-misfortune-a-torch-may-point/) [Bhartrhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhartrhari/) ## More by Laura Mullen > [Oh my research. Well, I got an English Degree. And I got that degree in a certain time/at a certain place. If you add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/oh-my-research-well-i-got-an-english-degree-and-i-got-that-degree-in/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [In Frankenstein there is a transfer first of life into death (in the creation and animation of the monster), and then of death into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/in-frankenstein-there-is-a-transfer-first-of-life-into-death-in-the/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Is it possible that where the subject is socially approved (tah tah tah TAH tah, it's war) almost no one thinks we're "stuck," but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/is-it-possible-that-where-the-subject-is-socially-approved-tah-tah/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [There's a case in Baton Rouge, haunting me, where a mother left her twelve-year-old daughter to be babysat (every day for months) by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/there-s-a-case-in-baton-rouge-haunting-me-where-a-mother-left-her/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Admitting how ill we are, how deep the damage goes, how constantly the abuse cycle is repeated and how horribly we have failed those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/admitting-how-ill-we-are-how-deep-the-damage-goes-how-constantly-the/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [It seems all "protection" has to be monitored, considered, weighed and justified - I am suggesting we do that (but it's something Mary Shelley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/it-seems-all-protection-has-to-be-monitored-considered-weighed-and/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [In the "Intervention" section of the book we go into that looping from a battery of positions (where healer and sufferer are blurred). I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/in-the-intervention-section-of-the-book-we-go-into-that-looping-from/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [And Complicated Grief is a text that announces, from the start, in its citation of influence, dense intertextuality and hybridity, a failure of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/and-complicated-grief-is-a-text-that-announces-from-the-start-in-its/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Maybe one way to think about it would be in the context of the historical development of germ theory. The problem of childbed fever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/maybe-one-way-to-think-about-it-would-be-in-the-context-of-the/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Star Wars film is breaking all previous box office records. (Why might we want to revisit those characters, that narrative, those jokes and tropes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/star-wars-film-is-breaking-all-previous-box-office-records-why-might/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [The most important aspect of writing the pieces that make up this eighth book was yielding to my obsessive side, letting my own "complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/the-most-important-aspect-of-writing-the-pieces-that-make-up-this/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [I can tell that I shaped the book very deliberately, after a great deal of thought, and that I insisted this piece function as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/i-can-tell-that-i-shaped-the-book-very-deliberately-after-a-great/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [There's a nice clear difference between real protection (wash your hands, or wear a condom) and the fake protection offered by institutions which often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/there-s-a-nice-clear-difference-between-real-protection-wash-your/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [One might say that "Torch Song" is, in part, about the urgency of the effort to pin things down and what wild dart throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/one-might-say-that-torch-song-is-in-part-about-the-urgency-of-the/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Complicated Grief was written in larger and more coherent (if disparate) shapes. The question was how they fit together. The mind is coherent, trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/complicated-grief-was-written-in-larger-and-more-coherent-if/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) [Explore all 40 Laura Mullen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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