--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The surgeons are playing on the myth's…" description: "\"The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for the function of the body. A man's thigh is for walking, but a woman's is for walking and loo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg" --- # The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for… ![“The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for the function of the body. A man's thigh is for walking, but a woman's is for walking and looking "beautiful." If women can walk but believe our limbs look wrong, we feel that our bodies cannot do what they are meant to do; we feel as…” quote by Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg) > “The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for the function of the body. A man's thigh is for walking, but a woman's is for walking and looking "beautiful." If women can walk but believe our limbs look wrong, we feel that our bodies cannot do what they are meant to do; we feel as genuinely deformed and disabled as the unwilling Victorian hypochondriac felt ill.” [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. Societal standards impose contradictory expectations on women's bodies, causing alienation and perceived deformity. **In simple terms:** Women feel judged by beauty standards, not function. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge limiting beauty norms. Themes body image gender expectations social pressure Mood frustrated reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - workplace - media representation - personal self‑esteem - health advocacy Key Concepts feminist critique psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How do you define beauty beyond function? - What steps can reduce body shame? A Different Perspective Not all cultures share these standards; change is slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Limbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-limbs-1158007/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Double standard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/double-standard/) [Fashion industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion-industry/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Hypochondriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypochondriac/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Limbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limbs/) [Limbs Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limbs-look-5183569/) [Looking beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-beautiful/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Man Thigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-thigh-3698044/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeons/) [Thigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thigh/) [Thigh Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thigh-walking-5183570/) [Thighs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thighs/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [ “Where woman do not fit the Iron Maiden \[societal expectations/assumptions about women's bodies\], we are now being called monstrous, and the Iron Maiden is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/where-woman-do-not-fit-the-iron-maiden-societal-expectations/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I want a big man physically as well as intellectually. l want a man with the thigh muscles to give me a good frolic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/i-want-a-big-man-physically-as-well-as-intellectually-l-want-a-man/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [I don't intend to stop showing a little cleavage. Nor do I intend to stop flashing a little thigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/i-don-t-intend-to-stop-showing-a-little-cleavage-nor-do-i-intend-to/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [The truth is I couldn’t care less about needing a supposed 'thigh gap;. It’s just another tool of manipulation that other people are trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-lawley/the-truth-is-i-couldn-t-care-less-about-needing-a-supposed-thigh-gap/) [Robyn Lawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-lawley/) > [“she wiggled closer to him, throwing her thigh over his. Not exactly initiating another round, but hanging out her shingle, anyway, to announce she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruthie-knox/she-wiggled-closer-to-him-throwing-her-thigh-over-his-not-exactly/) [Ruthie Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruthie-knox/) > [“If I can’t be your love, then let me be a simple brooch so I may rest a while against your chest. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/if-i-can-t-be-your-love-then-let-me-be-a-simple-brooch-so-i-may-rest/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Young girls are obsessed with having a thigh gap. I blame the impossible body standards set by Spongebob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/young-girls-are-obsessed-with-having-a-thigh-gap-i-blame-the/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Why are you naked?" "The better to feed you, m'dear." He pointed between his legs and my gaze roved along his cock. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bardsley/why-are-you-naked-the-better-to-feed-you-m-dear-he-pointed-between/) [Michele Bardsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bardsley/) > [I hit your thigh!” “Oh, please. A man doesn’t need that long to recover from a knee to the thigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/i-hit-your-thigh-oh-please-a-man-doesn-t-need-that-long-to-recover/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [You don't have to have a thigh gap to be beautiful. It is possible to love your body the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/you-don-t-have-to-have-a-thigh-gap-to-be-beautiful-it-is-possible-to/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [“Thigh on thigh, chest on chest, we're so close, there's not even night between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-zielin/thigh-on-thigh-chest-on-chest-we-re-so-close-there-s-not-even-night/) [Lara Zielin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-zielin/) > [I heard NASA wanted to invade your thigh gap. There was a lot of space between them thighs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/i-heard-nasa-wanted-to-invade-your-thigh-gap-there-was-a-lot-of-space/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [“You know that you are getting fat when your thighs start rubbing together when walking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/you-know-that-you-are-getting-fat-when-your-thighs-start-rubbing/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I'd rather eat chocloate than worry about if I have a thigh gap!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-eat-chocloate-than-worry-about-if-i-have-a-thigh-gap/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have you seen some of the crap they're selling as exercise equipment now? How about that Suzanne Somers? She should have been thrown in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/have-you-seen-some-of-the-crap-they-re-selling-as-exercise-equipment/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) ## 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 Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“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/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) [Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for the function of the body. A man's thigh is for walking, but a woman's is for walking and looking \"beautiful.\" If women can walk but believe our limbs look wrong, we feel that our bodies cannot do what they are meant to do; we feel as genuinely deformed and disabled as the unwilling Victorian hypochondriac felt ill.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Naomi Wolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-double-standard-for-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-double-standard-for-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/naomi-wolf-1344_beautiful_the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-d_3069194.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The surgeons are playing on the myth's double standard for the function of the body. A man's thigh is for…” — Naomi Wolf", "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": "Naomi Wolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The surgeons are playing on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-double-standard-for-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/the-surgeons-are-playing-on-the-myth-s-double-standard-for-the/#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 } } ] } ```