---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sexual expression is so powerful a way of…"
description: "\"“Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with others and so devastating a way of hurting others that it can never be reduced to a mere matter..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg"
---

#  Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with…

![“Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with others and so devastating a way of hurting others that it can never be reduced to a mere matter of personal preferences. Sexual desires have immense capacities to order or disorder the social world. Because of this, the social meanings and…” quote by Rachel Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg)

> ““Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with others and so devastating a way of hurting others that it can never be reduced to a mere matter of personal preferences. Sexual desires have immense capacities to order or disorder the social world. Because of this, the social meanings and expressions of sexual desire, connections, and taboos are an organizing component of human societies: Who wants whom? Who belongs with whom? Who is forbidden to whom? What do infractions mean, and what are their consequences?””

[Rachel Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-adler/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Sexual desire shapes social structures, influencing bonds, taboos, and power dynamics.

**In simple terms:** Sexual desire orders societies.

Key Takeaway

Reflect on how desire shapes norms.

Themes

sex power social order

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

Culture:1 Desire:1 Gender:1 Hurting others:1 Sexual:1 Sexual desire:1 Sexuality:1 Sexual Expression:1 Social Meanings:1 Expressions Sexual:1 Connections Taboos:1

When to use this quote

- relationship dynamics
- cultural analysis

Key Concepts

desire bonding taboos consequences

Questions to Reflect On

- How do personal desires affect social rules?
- What are the costs of repressing desire?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Connections Taboos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections-taboos-4280580/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Expressions Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressions-sexual-4280579/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Hurting others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurting-others/) [Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual/) [Sexual desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-desire/) [Sexual Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-expression-491408/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Social Meanings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-meanings-1474483/)

## Related quotes

> [“The common-sense notion that 'There is a time and place for everything' gets carried into a set of prescriptions which replicate the social order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-common-sense-notion-that-there-is-a-time-and-place-for-everything/)

[David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/)

> [“Human social life, I suggest, is the magma that erupts and builds up, so to speak, at the fault lines where natural human capacities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-smith/human-social-life-i-suggest-is-the-magma-that-erupts-and-builds-up-so/)

[Christian Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-smith/)

> [“It does not make you wrong. Simply . . . different. It is known as edgeplay. Role-playing what in real life would be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/it-does-not-make-you-wrong-simply-different-it-is-known-as-edgeplay/)

[Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/)

> [Homosexuality is against nature. Sexual expression is permitted only within marriage, between man and woman, male and female. Anything else is an abnormality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/homosexuality-is-against-nature-sexual-expression-is-permitted-only/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“No one stops to question why boys are never the objects of the gaze; why, if being on display is so empowering, males don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-gigi-durham/no-one-stops-to-question-why-boys-are-never-the-objects-of-the-gaze/)

[M. Gigi Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-gigi-durham/)

> [“A tawdry, cartoonlike version of female sexuality has become so ubiquitous, it no longer seems particular. What we once regarded as a \*kind\* of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/a-tawdry-cartoonlike-version-of-female-sexuality-has-become-so/)

[Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/)

> [The belief that female sexual expression is uniquely dehumanizing is a double standard, no matter how much you dress it up in feminist language.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-marcotte/the-belief-that-female-sexual-expression-is-uniquely-dehumanizing-is/)

[Amanda Marcotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-marcotte/)

> [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/)

[Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/)

> [ “He \[Wilhelm Reich\] challenged the puritanical ideas about sexuality in our culture. In laywoman terms, Reich believed humans store emotions in our muscles. During… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/he-wilhelm-reich-challenged-the-puritanical-ideas-about-sexuality-in/)

[Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/)

> [I believe women should own their sexuality and sexual expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-believe-women-should-own-their-sexuality-and-sexual-expression/)

[Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/)

> [If you don't encourage healthy sexual expression in public, you get unhealthy sexual expression in private. If you attempt to suppress sex in books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/if-you-don-t-encourage-healthy-sexual-expression-in-public-you-get/)

[Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/)

> [There's a disciplined erotic component to it, so that the height of sexual contact is the embrace, the modest touch, a relatively chaste kiss.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/there-s-a-disciplined-erotic-component-to-it-so-that-the-height-of/)

[Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/)

> [“Harnessing the unique sex energy that can only arise through sexual expression can awaken multidimensional awareness and provide you with your desired goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/harnessing-the-unique-sex-energy-that-can-only-arise-through-sexual/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [Sexual expression within a marriage is not an option or an extra. It is certainly not, as it has sometimes been considered, a necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/sexual-expression-within-a-marriage-is-not-an-option-or-an-extra-it/)

[John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/)

> [Wilhelmine Germany was hostile to the expression of same-sex love - and, of course, Mann would have known of the fate of Oscar Wilde.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/wilhelmine-germany-was-hostile-to-the-expression-of-same-sex-love-and/)

[Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/)

## More Culture 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/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [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/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/)

[Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/)

> [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/)

[Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/)

[Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/)

[Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/)

> [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/)

[Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

[Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with others and so devastating a way of hurting others that it can never be reduced to a mere matter of personal preferences. Sexual desires have immense capacities to order or disorder the social world. Because of this, the social meanings and expressions of sexual desire, connections, and taboos are an organizing component of human societies: Who wants whom? Who belongs with whom? Who is forbidden to whom? What do infractions mean, and what are their consequences?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rachel Adler"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-adler/sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-of-bonding-with-others-and-so/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Culture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-adler/sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-of-bonding-with-others-and-so/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e95/rachel-adler-191424_culture_sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-o_1302171.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sexual expression is so powerful a way of bonding with others and so devastating a way of hurting others…” — Rachel Adler",
                "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": "Rachel Adler",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-adler/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Sexual expression is so powerful a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-adler/sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-of-bonding-with-others-and-so/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-adler/sexual-expression-is-so-powerful-a-way-of-bonding-with-others-and-so/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
