--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Women understand that there are two…" description: "\"“Women understand that there are two distinct economies: There is physical attraction, and then there is the “ideal.” When a woman looks at a man, she ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/naomi-wolf-1344_art_women-understand-that-there-are-two-dist_2784290.png" --- # Women understand that there are two distinct economies… ![“Women understand that there are two distinct economies: There is physical attraction, and then there is the “ideal.” When a woman looks at a man, she can physically dislike the idea of his height, his coloring, his shape. But after she has liked him and loved him, she would not want him to look…” quote by Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/naomi-wolf-1344_art_women-understand-that-there-are-two-dist_2784290.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/naomi-wolf-1344_art_women-understand-that-there-are-two-dist_2784290.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/naomi-wolf-1344_art_women-understand-that-there-are-two-dist_2784290.png) > ““Women understand that there are two distinct economies: There is physical attraction, and then there is the “ideal.” When a woman looks at a man, she can physically dislike the idea of his height, his coloring, his shape. But after she has liked him and loved him, she would not want him to look any other way: For many women, the body appears to grow beautiful and erotic as they grow to like the person in it. The actual body, the smell, the feel, the voice and movement, becomes charged with heat through the desirable person who animates it. Even Gertrude Stein said of Picasso, “There was nothing especially attractive about him at first sight…but his radiance, an inner fire one sensed in him, gave him a sort of magnetism I was unable to resist.” By the same token, a woman can admire a man as a work of art but lose sexual interest if he turns out to be an idiot. What becomes of the man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her “beauty” his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend, no ally, no mutual trust: She knows quite well why she has been chosen. He has succeeded in buying a mutually suspicious set of insecurities. He does gain something: the esteem of other men who find such an acquisition impressive.”” [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. Women may initially reject physical traits but later find them attractive as they love the person, showing desire is shaped by emotional connection **In simple terms:** Physical attraction can change once emotional love develops Key Takeaway Love reshapes perception of beauty Themes relationships beauty psychology Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dating - long‑term partnership - art criticism - media analysis Key Concepts attachment theory social conditioning Questions to Reflect On - What role does emotional intimacy play in attraction? - Can beauty be truly independent of love? A Different Perspective Physical attraction alone cannot sustain deep relationships ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Attraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attraction/) [Beautiful woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-woman/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Ideal woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-woman/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mutual trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutual-trust/) [Physical attraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-attraction/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know if I was a desirable person, not just physically but emotionally and mentally and intellectually. 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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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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But after she has liked him and loved him, she would not want him to look any other way: For many women, the body appears to grow beautiful and erotic as they grow to like the person in it. The actual body, the smell, the feel, the voice and movement, becomes charged with heat through the desirable person who animates it. Even Gertrude Stein said of Picasso, “There was nothing especially attractive about him at first sight…but his radiance, an inner fire one sensed in him, gave him a sort of magnetism I was unable to resist.” By the same token, a woman can admire a man as a work of art but lose sexual interest if he turns out to be an idiot. What becomes of the man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her “beauty” his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend, no ally, no mutual trust: She knows quite well why she has been chosen. He has succeeded in buying a mutually suspicious set of insecurities. 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