--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since middle-class Western women can best…" description: "\"“Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened psychologically now that we are stronger materially, the beauty myth, as it has resurfaced in th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/naomi-wolf-1344_beauty_since-middle-class-western-women-can-bes_3190340.jpg" --- # Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened… ![“Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened psychologically now that we are stronger materially, the beauty myth, as it has resurfaced in the last generation, has had to draw on more technological sophistication and reactionary fervor than ever before. The modern arsenal of the myth is a…” quote by Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/naomi-wolf-1344_beauty_since-middle-class-western-women-can-bes_3190340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/naomi-wolf-1344_beauty_since-middle-class-western-women-can-bes_3190340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/naomi-wolf-1344_beauty_since-middle-class-western-women-can-bes_3190340.jpg) > ““Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened psychologically now that we are stronger materially, the beauty myth, as it has resurfaced in the last generation, has had to draw on more technological sophistication and reactionary fervor than ever before. The modern arsenal of the myth is a dissemination of millions of images of the current ideal; although this barrage is generally seen as a collective sexual fantasy, there is in fact little that is sexual about it. It is summoned out of political fear on the part of male-dominated institutions threatened by women's freedom, and it exploits female guilt and apprehension about our own liberation -- latent fears that we might be going too far.”” [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. The passage argues that contemporary beauty standards are a sophisticated, technologically driven tool used by patriarchal powers to control women, exploiting guilt and fear rather than sexual desire. **In simple terms:** Beauty standards are used to control women through fear and guilt. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge manipulative beauty narratives. Themes gender power media body image politics Mood critical analytical concerned Type critical analytical sociopolitical When to use this quote - advertising campaigns - social media platforms - workplace dress codes - educational curricula - political discourse Key Concepts feminist critique social control technological influence Questions to Reflect On - In what ways do you see beauty standards influencing your choices? - How can societies resist manipulative media messages? A Different Perspective May generalize women's experiences and ignore individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-myth/) [Body image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-image/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [ “Men who read it \[beauty pornography\] don't do so because they want women who look like that. The attraction of what they are holding… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/men-who-read-it-beauty-pornography-don-t-do-so-because-they-want/) [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-2/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“Sexual satisfaction eases the stranglehold of materialism, since status symbols no longer look sexual, but irrelevant. Product lust weakens where emotional and sexual lust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/sexual-satisfaction-eases-the-stranglehold-of-materialism-since/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“Until recently the locus of sexual fantasy was peopled with images actually glimpsed or were sensations actually felt, or private imaginings taken from suggestions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/until-recently-the-locus-of-sexual-fantasy-was-peopled-with-images/) [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) ## 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 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": "“Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened psychologically now that we are stronger materially, the beauty myth, as it has resurfaced in the last generation, has had to draw on more technological sophistication and reactionary fervor than ever before. 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