--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that beauty is unimportant is…" description: "\"The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.\" — Nancy Etcoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png" --- # The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth. ![“The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.” quote by Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png) > “The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.” [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal standards often undervalue beauty, yet this dismissal reinforces its importance. **In simple terms:** Dismissing beauty makes it powerful. Key Takeaway Question beauty norms. Themes culture beauty identity Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - media analysis - personal grooming - advertising critique Key Concepts social perception self-esteem Questions to Reflect On - How do you define beauty personally? - What role does beauty play in your life? A Different Perspective Beauty can be superficial and harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-myth/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Real beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-beauty/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [The idea that beauty is unimportant or a cultural construct is the real beauty myth. We have to understand beauty, or we will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-or-a-cultural-construct-is-the/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“The rise of the beauty myth was just one of several emerging social fictions that masqueraded as natural components of the feminine sphere, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-rise-of-the-beauty-myth-was-just-one-of-several-emerging-social/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Is the beauty myth good to men? It hurts them by teaching them how to avoid loving women. It prevents men from actually seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/is-the-beauty-myth-good-to-men-it-hurts-them-by-teaching-them-how-to/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Spokespeople sell women the Iron Maiden and name her "Health": if public discourse were really concerned with women's health, it would turn angrily upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/spokespeople-sell-women-the-iron-maiden-and-name-her-health-if-public/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [No matter what a woman's appearance may be, it will be used to undermine what she is saying and taken to individualize - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/no-matter-what-a-woman-s-appearance-may-be-it-will-be-used-to/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [The beauty myth is always actually prescribing behaviour and not appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-beauty-myth-is-always-actually-prescribing-behaviour-and-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“Possibilities for women have become so open-ended that they threaten to destabilize the institutions on which a male-dominated culture has depended, and a collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/possibilities-for-women-have-become-so-open-ended-that-they-threaten/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why does the social order feel the need to defend itself by evading the fact of real women, our faces and voices and bodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/why-does-the-social-order-feel-the-need-to-defend-itself-by-evading/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I listened to this book, 'The Beauty Myth,' about how beauty standards are messing with women in Western society, and I was like, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kaluuya/i-listened-to-this-book-the-beauty-myth-about-how-beauty-standards/) [Daniel Kaluuya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kaluuya/) > [As women demanded access to power, the power structure used the beauty myth materially to undermine women's advancement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/as-women-demanded-access-to-power-the-power-structure-used-the-beauty/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The beauty myth of the present is more insidious than any mystique of femininity yet: A century ago, Nora slammed the door of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-beauty-myth-of-the-present-is-more-insidious-than-any-mystique-of/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The beauty myth sets it up this way: A high rating as an art object is the most valuable tribute a woman can exact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-beauty-myth-sets-it-up-this-way-a-high-rating-as-an-art-object-is/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [To live in a culture in which women are routinely naked where men aren't is to learn inequality in little ways all day long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/to-live-in-a-culture-in-which-women-are-routinely-naked-where-men/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The qualities that a given period calls beautiful in women are merely symbols of the female behavior that that period considers desirable: The beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-qualities-that-a-given-period-calls-beautiful-in-women-are-merely/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Our society does reward beauty on the outside over health on the inside. Women must not be blamed for choosing short-term beauty "fixes" that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/our-society-does-reward-beauty-on-the-outside-over-health-on-the/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) ## More by Nancy Etcoff > [throughout human history people have scarred, painted, pierced, padded, stiffened, plucked, and buffed their bodies in the name of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/throughout-human-history-people-have-scarred-painted-pierced-padded/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [The formula for a happy marriage is five positive remarks, or interactions, for every one negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-formula-for-a-happy-marriage-is-five-positive-remarks-or/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [In Brazil there are more Avon ladies than members of the army. In the United States more money is spent on beauty than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/in-brazil-there-are-more-avon-ladies-than-members-of-the-army-in-the/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [The idea that beauty is unimportant or a cultural construct is the real beauty myth. We have to understand beauty, or we will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-or-a-cultural-construct-is-the/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Physical beauty is like athletic skill: it peaks young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/physical-beauty-is-like-athletic-skill-it-peaks-young/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [When abused children under court protection were studied in California and Massachusetts, it turned out that a disproportionate number of them were unattractive...abused kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/when-abused-children-under-court-protection-were-studied-in/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty draws us in. We can't stop looking or listening or touching. It takes us outside ourselves and it motivates us. It's essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-draws-us-in-we-can-t-stop-looking-or-listening-or-touching-it/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“After staring at photographs of very attractive faces, men show less desire to date an average-looking woman. Exposure to extremely beautiful bodies in visual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/after-staring-at-photographs-of-very-attractive-faces-men-show-less/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“Humans, like flowers and animals, inhabit a form that is both functional and aesthetic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/humans-like-flowers-and-animals-inhabit-a-form-that-is-both/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty ensnares hearts, captures minds, and stirs up emotional wildfires. From Plato to pinups, images of human beauty have catered to a limitless desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-ensnares-hearts-captures-minds-and-stirs-up-emotional/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Beauty is equal parts flesh and imagination: we imbue it with our dreams, saturate it with our longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-is-equal-parts-flesh-and-imagination-we-imbue-it-with-our/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [“Beauty ensnares hearts, captures minds, and stirs up emotional wildfires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/beauty-ensnares-hearts-captures-minds-and-stirs-up-emotional-wildfires/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) > [Appearance is the most public part of the self. It is our sacrament, the visible self that the world assumes to be a mirror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/appearance-is-the-most-public-part-of-the-self-it-is-our-sacrament/) [Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) [Explore all 14 Nancy Etcoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Etcoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-the-real-beauty-myth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-the-real-beauty-myth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/nancy-etcoff-34794_beauty_the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-t_832845.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The idea that beauty is unimportant is the real beauty myth.” — Nancy Etcoff", "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": "Nancy Etcoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The idea that beauty is unimportant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-the-real-beauty-myth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/the-idea-that-beauty-is-unimportant-is-the-real-beauty-myth/#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 } } ] } ```