---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A cultural fixation on female thinness is…"
description: "\"“A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience.\" -Naomi Wolf”\" — Stacey M. Ros..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg"
---

#  A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession…

![“A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience.&quot; -Naomi Wolf” quote by Stacey M. Rosenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg)

> ““A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience." -Naomi Wolf””

[Stacey M. Rosenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-m-rosenfeld/)

## About This Quote

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

Society’s focus on thinness is a control mechanism, using beauty standards to enforce obedience rather than aesthetic appreciation

**In simple terms:** Thinness is used to enforce obedience, not just beauty

Key Takeaway

Recognize and challenge oppressive beauty norms

Themes

beauty standards control obedience body image feminist critique

Mood

critical feminist analytical

Type

Anorexia:0 Beauty:0 Binge eating:0 Bingeing:0 Body image:0 Body language:0 Dieting:0 Diets:0 Female beauty:0 Female Obedience:0 Thinness Obsession:0 Obsession Female:0 Obedience Naomi:0 Beauty Obsession:0

When to use this quote

- media analysis
- personal empowerment
- policy advocacy

Key Concepts

sociology gender studies psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do beauty standards enforce obedience?
- What alternatives to thinness ideals exist?

A Different Perspective

Complex interplay of culture and control may be oversimplified

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anorexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-obsession-3213681/) [Binge eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binge-eating/) [Bingeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bingeing/) [Body image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-image/) [Body language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-language/) [Dieting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dieting/) [Diets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diets/) [Female beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-beauty/) [Female Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-obedience-524858/) [Obedience Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience-naomi-3213680/) [Obsession Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession-female-524860/) [Thinness Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinness-obsession-524859/)

## Related quotes

> [A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/a-culture-fixated-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about-female/)

[Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/)

> [A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about-2/)

[Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/)

> [I think the main reason is that people binge watch because they can. We're like dogs, really. If we like something, we tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-weiss/i-think-the-main-reason-is-that-people-binge-watch-because-they-can/)

[D. B. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-weiss/)

> [“Let go of toxic control, in order to regain healthy control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-rose-kotecki/let-go-of-toxic-control-in-order-to-regain-healthy-control/)

[Kayla Rose Kotecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-rose-kotecki/)

> [“Find Your Balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-kotecki/find-your-balance/)

[Kayla Kotecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-kotecki/)

> [I, like most people, spend a lot of time watching shows. Bingeing shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-missick/i-like-most-people-spend-a-lot-of-time-watching-shows-bingeing-shows/)

[Simone Missick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-missick/)

> [Food has always brought me comfort and the bingeing is triggered when I'm in a space that is not positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/food-has-always-brought-me-comfort-and-the-bingeing-is-triggered-when/)

[Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/)

> [Reading was like eating alone, with that same element of bingeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/reading-was-like-eating-alone-with-that-same-element-of-bingeing/)

[Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/)

> [Bingeing is such an emotionally frenetic activity that no other concerns can exist in the same space. It is a hell that people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/bingeing-is-such-an-emotionally-frenetic-activity-that-no-other/)

[Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/)

> [“Perhaps a past of bingeing, restricting, or purging comes back to haunt you from time to time. Maybe you have to fight hard battles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wicker/perhaps-a-past-of-bingeing-restricting-or-purging-comes-back-to-haunt/)

[Kate Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wicker/)

> [I was the laziest person around. Suddenly, one day, I decided to become an actor. Thank God for that whimsical decision: else, by now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabhas/i-was-the-laziest-person-around-suddenly-one-day-i-decided-to-become/)

[Prabhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabhas/)

> [“Why couldn’t I find one action that would make the need to binge automatically disappear? Because there is no magic action to make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/why-couldn-t-i-find-one-action-that-would-make-the-need-to-binge/)

[Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/)

> [It will feel boring when you're bingeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-will-feel-boring-when-you-re-bingeing/)

[Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/)

> [“There are days when I just want to sod off the entire day and lie in bed bingeing on Netflix while eating crisps. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-toon/there-are-days-when-i-just-want-to-sod-off-the-entire-day-and-lie-in/)

[Kate Toon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-toon/)

> [I love bingeing. 'The Wire' was my first binge, and the thing about bingeing is, when you are doing four or five hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/i-love-bingeing-the-wire-was-my-first-binge-and-the-thing-about/)

[James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/)

## More Anorexia quotes

> [“Anorexia is, without doubt, a serious eating disorder, but there is a hell of a lot of mainstream disordered eating going on out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/anorexia-is-without-doubt-a-serious-eating-disorder-but-there-is-a/)

[Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/)

> [If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elmore-meegan/if-we-are-ready-to-tear-down-the-walls-that-confine-us-break-the-cage/)

[Michael Elmore-Meegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-elmore-meegan/)

> [“Being constantly hungry is no life at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/being-constantly-hungry-is-no-life-at-all/)

[Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/)

> [“I’ve never had anorexia, but I know it well. I see it on the street, in the gaunt and sunken face, the boney chest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/i-ve-never-had-anorexia-but-i-know-it-well-i-see-it-on-the-street-in/)

[Harriet Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-brown/)

> [“Between 10 and 20 percent of people with anorexia die from heart attacks, other complications and suicide; the disease has the highest mortality rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/between-10-and-20-percent-of-people-with-anorexia-die-from-heart/)

[Harriet Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-brown/)

> [ “Emma cites the structure of the \[Eating Disorder\] Unit as being important to her decision to disengage from her illness, and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lee/emma-cites-the-structure-of-the-eating-disorder-unit-as-being/)

[Carol Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lee/)

> [I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don't realize you have it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/i-was-struggling-with-anorexia-and-one-of-the-biggest-problems-with/)

[Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/)

> [Finding a cure for anorexia should be a piece of cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-elba/finding-a-cure-for-anorexia-should-be-a-piece-of-cake/)

[Charles Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-elba/)

> [“I know what you're thinking. ‘How the hell does this broke ass piece of trailer trash know words like caveat,’ right? Well guess what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isobel-irons/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-how-the-hell-does-this-broke-ass-piece-of/)

[Isobel Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isobel-irons/)

> [I wanted to kill the me underneath. That fact haunted my days and nights. When you realize you hate yourself so much, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wanted-to-kill-the-me-underneath-that-fact-haunted-my-days-and/)

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

> [“Even with friends, I had difficulty giving or receiving physical affection, although I secretly craved it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-m-taylor/even-with-friends-i-had-difficulty-giving-or-receiving-physical/)

[Kate M. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-m-taylor/)

> [Man is never alone. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, that which dreams through him is always there to support him from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/man-is-never-alone-acknowledged-or-unacknowledged-that-which-dreams/)

[Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/)

> [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/)

[Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/)

> [I am forever engaged in a silent battle in my head over whether or not to lift the fork to my mouth, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-morrow/i-am-forever-engaged-in-a-silent-battle-in-my-head-over-whether-or/)

[Jena Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jena-morrow/)

> [“Fooling the body into thinking it's full on only a thousand calories can be difficult. The trick is to chew the food until it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/fooling-the-body-into-thinking-it-s-full-on-only-a-thousand-calories/)

[J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/)

[Browse all 197 Anorexia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience.\" -Naomi Wolf”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stacey M. Rosenfeld"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-m-rosenfeld/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anorexia"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-m-rosenfeld/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/stacey-m-rosenfeld-135666_anorexia_a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-i_1145628.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female…” — Stacey M. Rosenfeld",
                "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": "Stacey M. Rosenfeld",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-m-rosenfeld/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A cultural fixation on female thinness...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-m-rosenfeld/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-m-rosenfeld/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
