--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never understood this puritanical…" description: "\"I've never understood this puritanical idea that feminism has to be a cult. You know, we all have to think alike or dress alike or have a similar ideol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/naomi-wolf-1344_cult_i-ve-never-understood-this-puritanical-i_1234521.png" --- # I've never understood this puritanical idea that feminism… ![“I've never understood this puritanical idea that feminism has to be a cult. You know, we all have to think alike or dress alike or have a similar ideology.” quote by Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/naomi-wolf-1344_cult_i-ve-never-understood-this-puritanical-i_1234521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/naomi-wolf-1344_cult_i-ve-never-understood-this-puritanical-i_1234521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/naomi-wolf-1344_cult_i-ve-never-understood-this-puritanical-i_1234521.png) > “I've never understood this puritanical idea that feminism has to be a cult. You know, we all have to think alike or dress alike or have a similar ideology.” [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques the notion that feminism demands uniformity; advocates for diverse expressions of gender equality. **In simple terms:** Feminism isn’t a single way of thinking. Key Takeaway Embrace varied feminist perspectives. Themes feminism diversity individuality Mood critical analytical Type opinion philosophical When to use this quote - activism - education - media representation - policy making Key Concepts social theory identity culture Questions to Reflect On - How can feminism stay inclusive? - What does “cult” imply in this context? A Different Perspective Uniformity can stifle progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I'm sure a few marriages broke up because of feminism; it doesn't make feminism a cult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/i-m-sure-a-few-marriages-broke-up-because-of-feminism-it-doesn-t-make/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [“I mean, I’m not not a feminist. I mean, I believe I’m a human before I’m a woman.” You say this because you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/i-mean-i-m-not-not-a-feminist-i-mean-i-believe-i-m-a-human-before-i-m/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [There have been women who stumbled across Feministing randomly, through a bizarre Google search or something, and had no idea what feminism was. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/there-have-been-women-who-stumbled-across-feministing-randomly/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I think the idea that feminism is dead is dangerous because it leads women and men to believe that (1) they don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/i-think-the-idea-that-feminism-is-dead-is-dangerous-because-it-leads/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [People have accepted the media's idea of what feminism is, but that doesn't mean that it's right or true or real. Feminism is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-chicago/people-have-accepted-the-media-s-idea-of-what-feminism-is-but-that/) [Judy Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-chicago/) > [This idea of feminism as a party to which only a select few people get to come - this is why so many women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/this-idea-of-feminism-as-a-party-to-which-only-a-select-few-people/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [I think I'm speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn't even be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-think-i-m-speaking-for-a-bunch-of-girls-when-i-say-that-the-idea/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it's very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/my-idea-of-feminism-is-self-determination-and-it-s-very-open-ended/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'm speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn't even be something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-m-speaking-for-a-bunch-of-girls-when-i-say-that-the-idea-that/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [“Too many people have a cramped idea of what feminism is, and all it does is marginalize women and discourage more of us from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luvvie-ajayi/too-many-people-have-a-cramped-idea-of-what-feminism-is-and-all-it/) [Luvvie Ajayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luvvie-ajayi/) > [It's an amusing idea to some, this feminism thing - this audacious notion that women should be able to move through the world as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/it-s-an-amusing-idea-to-some-this-feminism-thing-this-audacious/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [The idea that feminism is a 'battle of the sexes' about blaming all men and setting up a 'gender war' is a handy, controversial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bates/the-idea-that-feminism-is-a-battle-of-the-sexes-about-blaming-all-men/) [Laura Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bates/) > [I discovered the idea of feminism when I watched the film '10 Things I Hate About You.' It's a classic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mayberry/i-discovered-the-idea-of-feminism-when-i-watched-the-film-10-things-i/) [Lauren Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mayberry/) > [Some men feel threatened by the idea of feminism. This comes, I think, from the insecurity triggered by how boys are brought up, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/some-men-feel-threatened-by-the-idea-of-feminism-this-comes-i-think/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [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/) ## More by Naomi Wolf > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [There's been a systematic propagandizing of American citizens for 30 years to make us forget what America is supposed to be and what our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/there-s-been-a-systematic-propagandizing-of-american-citizens-for-30/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Maybe the less pain we inflict on our bodies, the more beautiful our bodies will look to us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/maybe-the-less-pain-we-inflict-on-our-bodies-the-more-beautiful-our/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“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/) > [The Victorian woman became her ovaries, as today's woman has become her "beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-victorian-woman-became-her-ovaries-as-today-s-woman-has-become/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The anthropologist Margaret Mead concluded in 1948, after observing seven different ethnic groups in the Pacific Islands, that different cultures made different forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-anthropologist-margaret-mead-concluded-in-1948-after-observing/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [What becomes of a man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her "beauty" his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/what-becomes-of-a-man-who-acquires-a-beautiful-woman-with-her-beauty/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“Beauty” is a currency system like the gold standard. Like any economy, it is determined by politics, and in the modern age in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/beauty-is-a-currency-system-like-the-gold-standard-like-any-economy/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“Rape and sexual assault ... should be understood not just as a form of forced sex, they should also be understood as as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/rape-and-sexual-assault-should-be-understood-not-just-as-a-form-of/) [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/) > [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/) > [a white person who claims to have no impediment of vision in this country is not, I think, telling the whole truth. And when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/a-white-person-who-claims-to-have-no-impediment-of-vision-in-this/) [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/) > [“Societies tell themselves necessary fictions in the same way that individuals and families do. Henrik Ibsen called them “vital lies,” and psychologist Daniel Goleman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/societies-tell-themselves-necessary-fictions-in-the-same-way-that/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Explore all 251 Naomi Wolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) ## More Cult quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Koch believed that what the famed economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction" was so critical to the health of the capitalist system that empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/koch-believed-that-what-the-famed-economist-joseph-schumpeter-called/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [I really hate those Internet freaks who take each thirty minute bundle of joy and turn it into a cult game of Where's Wally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/i-really-hate-those-internet-freaks-who-take-each-thirty-minute/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [I didn't read about it for school. It was just for myself. I was interested in cults in general but Jonestown was the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/i-didn-t-read-about-it-for-school-it-was-just-for-myself-i-was/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [The star system, the idol, the cult of personality is not the only way to be in entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/the-star-system-the-idol-the-cult-of-personality-is-not-the-only-way/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [“since she would never have practised the cult of these things, she would take no impious delight in their profanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/since-she-would-never-have-practised-the-cult-of-these-things-she/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I don't think it takes much for a cult to be a cult. Many parts of our society are cultish, and you only need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-flynn/i-don-t-think-it-takes-much-for-a-cult-to-be-a-cult-many-parts-of-our/) [Jerome Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-flynn/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Once I knew what I was doing I was there and with it; I had the total knowing. I Googled God and orgasmed At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/once-i-knew-what-i-was-doing-i-was-there-and-with-it-i-had-the-total/) Initially NO > [“Ms Brennan is telling the very few people who attended an educational event: "You are warriors against the cult of stupidity that is taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/ms-brennan-is-telling-the-very-few-people-who-attended-an-educational/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [Hinduism... gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/hinduism-gave-itself-no-name-because-it-set-itself-no-sectarian/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) [Browse all 750 Cult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never understood this puritanical idea that feminism has to be a cult. 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