--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The disciplinary power that inscribes…" description: "\"The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the female body is everywhere and it is nowhere; the disciplinarian is everyone and yet no one in p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg" --- # The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the… ![“The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the female body is everywhere and it is nowhere; the disciplinarian is everyone and yet no one in particular.” quote by Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg) > “The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the female body is everywhere and it is nowhere; the disciplinarian is everyone and yet no one in particular.” [Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal norms embed gender expectations into bodies, making control both pervasive and invisible, with everyone complicit yet no single enforcer. **In simple terms:** Gender expectations are built into bodies and society. Key Takeaway Recognize and question hidden gender controls. Themes gender power body society norms Mood critical analytical Type theoretical feminist When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - education - media representation - personal relationships Key Concepts feminist theory social control identity surveillance Questions to Reflect On - Who enforces gender norms in your life? - How can you reclaim bodily autonomy? A Different Perspective Resistance can be difficult when control is diffuse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Female body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-body/) [Femininity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/femininity/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) ## Related quotes > [You cannot call a poem female just because it is written by a woman. Nevertheless, I think attempts to find femininity in female bodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/you-cannot-call-a-poem-female-just-because-it-is-written-by-a-woman/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [Since I was a kid, I've always been skinny and frail framed. I felt powerless as a child, but I always saw so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaska/since-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-always-been-skinny-and-frail-framed-i-felt/) [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaska/) > [My company, Ballet Beautiful, is built around celebrating the strength and femininity of the female body - for me, pregnancy has just been an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-bowers/my-company-ballet-beautiful-is-built-around-celebrating-the-strength/) [Mary Helen Bowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-helen-bowers/) > [Unlike femininity, relaxed masculinity is at bottom empty, a limp nullity. While the female body is full of internal potentiality, the male is internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gilder/unlike-femininity-relaxed-masculinity-is-at-bottom-empty-a-limp/) [George Gilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gilder/) > [Fashion has been collected and exhibited for many years. People were picking up clothing of famous individuals, like Marie Antoinette's shoe or Napoleon's hat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-steele/fashion-has-been-collected-and-exhibited-for-many-years-people-were/) [Valerie Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-steele/) > [The construction of femininity is a construction, yes, but also it can be twisted and turned around in such a way that doesn't necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-simpson/the-construction-of-femininity-is-a-construction-yes-but-also-it-can/) [Lorna Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-simpson/) > [“I have always enjoyed watching women dress. The appeal isn't sexual. Most girls' first glimpse of private female life is watching their mothers dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-have-always-enjoyed-watching-women-dress-the-appeal-isn-t-sexual/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [The nationalism I seek is one that decolonizes the brown and female body as it decolonizes the brown and female earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/the-nationalism-i-seek-is-one-that-decolonizes-the-brown-and-female/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [“the dangerous female body that somehow, in Muslim society, had been made to carry the heavy burden of male honor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-dangerous-female-body-that-somehow-in-muslim-society-had-been/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“In the 1970s, while researching in the Library of Congress, I found an obscure history of religious architecture that assumed a fact as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/in-the-1970s-while-researching-in-the-library-of-congress-i-found-an/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Alienation between the content and form happens frequently in my poems because I obstinately carry on dismantling my body, an act you can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/alienation-between-the-content-and-form-happens-frequently-in-my/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [The man takes a body that is not his, claims it, sows his so-called seed, reaps a harvest - he colonizes a female body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-man-takes-a-body-that-is-not-his-claims-it-sows-his-so-called/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Alber Elbaz really understands the female body and his designs are so flattering to the female form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-gardot/alber-elbaz-really-understands-the-female-body-and-his-designs-are-so/) [Melody Gardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-gardot/) > [I was trying to develop a completely new, nonvoyeuristic approach to the female body as something other than a visual object. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/i-was-trying-to-develop-a-completely-new-nonvoyeuristic-approach-to/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## More by Sandra Bartky > [We are born male or female, but not masculine or feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/we-are-born-male-or-female-but-not-masculine-or-feminine/) [Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) > [Women punish themselves for the failure to conform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/women-punish-themselves-for-the-failure-to-conform/) [Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) > [Women's body language speaks eloquently, though silently, of her subordinate status in a hierarchy of gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/women-s-body-language-speaks-eloquently-though-silently-of-her/) [Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) > [Performance for another in no way signals the inferiority of the performer to the one for whom the performance is intended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/performance-for-another-in-no-way-signals-the-inferiority-of-the/) [Sandra Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) [Explore all 5 Sandra Bartky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the female body is everywhere and it is nowhere; the disciplinarian is everyone and yet no one in particular.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sandra Bartky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-femininity-in-the-female-body/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-femininity-in-the-female-body/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sandra-bartky-58992_body_the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-fe_2770654.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity in the female body is everywhere and it is nowhere; the…” — Sandra Bartky", "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": "Sandra Bartky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The disciplinary power that inscribes femininity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-femininity-in-the-female-body/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bartky/the-disciplinary-power-that-inscribes-femininity-in-the-female-body/#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 } } ] } ```