--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What might once have been called whining…" description: "\"What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg" --- # What might once have been called whining is now exalted as… ![“What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression.” quote by Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg) > “What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression.” [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑absorption is now praised as personal expression, blurring lines between narcissism and authenticity. **In simple terms:** Self‑obsession is framed as self‑expression. Key Takeaway Distinguish genuine self‑growth from ego‑driven behavior. Themes identity culture self‑expression Mood critical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - media analysis - personal branding - mental health Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - When does self‑expression become self‑absorption? - How can authenticity be balanced with humility? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on self can hinder community building. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absorption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorption/) [Asserting Selfhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asserting-selfhood-5627065/) [Called Whining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-whining-5627066/) [Exalted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exalted/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self absorption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-absorption/) [Self expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-expression/) [Whining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whining/) [Whining Exalted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whining-exalted-5627064/) ## Related quotes > [Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/complaining-about-a-problem-without-posing-a-solution-is-called/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [When evangelizers rise from prayer, their hearts are more open; freed of self-absorption, they are desirous of doing good and sharing their lives with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-evangelizers-rise-from-prayer-their-hearts-are-more-open-freed/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Serving others breaks you free from the shackles of self and self-absorption that choke out the joy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hunter/serving-others-breaks-you-free-from-the-shackles-of-self-and-self/) [James Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hunter/) > [Conscience is the moralized form of self-absorption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/conscience-is-the-moralized-form-of-self-absorption/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [To be sick and helpless is a humiliating experience. Prolonged illness also carries the hazard of narcissistic self-absorption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/to-be-sick-and-helpless-is-a-humiliating-experience-prolonged-illness/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [Post-wounded women know that postures of pain play into limited and outmoded conceptions of womanhood. Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Bodybuilding is men on a stage in their underwear wearing brown paint showing other men their muscles. It is training for appearance only, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rippetoe/bodybuilding-is-men-on-a-stage-in-their-underwear-wearing-brown-paint/) [Mark Rippetoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rippetoe/) > [A new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished-not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/a-new-generation-of-christians-is-being-called-to-help-build-a-world/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Babies and the old are permitted self-absorption. In between, it provokes resentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/babies-and-the-old-are-permitted-self-absorption-in-between-it/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [ \[Pope Francis\]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the-gospel-and-of-friendship/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [Prayer gives us relief from the melancholy burden of self-absorption .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-gives-us-relief-from-the-melancholy-burden-of-self-absorption/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Selfishness and self-absorption are deadly charm-exterminators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/selfishness-and-self-absorption-are-deadly-charm-exterminators/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Self-absorption intensifies isolation, but permits it to go unnoticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/self-absorption-intensifies-isolation-but-permits-it-to-go-unnoticed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) ## More by Wendy Kaminer > [Jargon seems to be the place where the right brain and the left brain meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/jargon-seems-to-be-the-place-where-the-right-brain-and-the-left-brain/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [As Camille Paglia's success has demonstrated, what is most marketable is absolutism and attitude undiluted by thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/as-camille-paglia-s-success-has-demonstrated-what-is-most-marketable/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [I don't spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don't consider that a relevant question. It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-whether-god-exists-i-don-t/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [It is the inevitable effect of religion on public policy that makes it a matter of public concern. Advocates of religiosity extol the virtues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/it-is-the-inevitable-effect-of-religion-on-public-policy-that-makes/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [There are only two states of being in the world of codependency - recovery and denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/there-are-only-two-states-of-being-in-the-world-of-codependency/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [We don't cut off the hands of thieves or castrate rapists. Why must we murder murderers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/we-don-t-cut-off-the-hands-of-thieves-or-castrate-rapists-why-must-we/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [I don't see a direct conflict between the rights of individuals and the rights of communities, because I don't perceive of communities as having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-see-a-direct-conflict-between-the-rights-of-individuals-and/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [There are, however, exceptions to this reliance on feelings as evidence of truth: if, for instance, your feelings lead to disbelief instead of belief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/there-are-however-exceptions-to-this-reliance-on-feelings-as-evidence/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [I don't think of myself as having a particular role. I'm lucky enough to be able to make my living essentially by expressing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-having-a-particular-role-i-m-lucky-enough/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [There's a way in which all of these grazers at the spirituality buffet are performing a service, because you could argue that grazing leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/there-s-a-way-in-which-all-of-these-grazers-at-the-spirituality/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [There is this fashionable progressive notion that everything is so completely political that the idea we could have some sort of neutral legal process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/there-is-this-fashionable-progressive-notion-that-everything-is-so/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [The press and the public like certainty and affirmation of popular biases. But real science thrives on the capacity for doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/the-press-and-the-public-like-certainty-and-affirmation-of-popular/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [Faith is not a function of stupidity but a frequent cause of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/faith-is-not-a-function-of-stupidity-but-a-frequent-cause-of-it/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [I do what I do because I have a compulsion to hold forth. I don't spend a lot of time, if any, thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-do-what-i-do-because-i-have-a-compulsion-to-hold-forth-i-don-t/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [Only people who die very young learn all they really need to know in kindergarten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/only-people-who-die-very-young-learn-all-they-really-need-to-know-in/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) [Explore all 40 Wendy Kaminer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) ## More Absorption quotes > [In fact, studies show that vegans tend to get more iron than meat eaters. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables increases iron absorption. Meanwhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/in-fact-studies-show-that-vegans-tend-to-get-more-iron-than-meat/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [The greatness of peoples springs from their ability to grasp the grand conceptions of being. It is the absorption of a people, of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-crummell/the-greatness-of-peoples-springs-from-their-ability-to-grasp-the/) [Alexander Crummell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-crummell/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I was in a garden at the Rodin Museum. For a few minutes I was alone, sitting on a bench between two long hedges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/i-was-in-a-garden-at-the-rodin-museum-for-a-few-minutes-i-was-alone/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/those-who-work-at-a-thing-heart-and-soul-not-only-achieve-success-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Self-absorption intensifies isolation, but permits it to go unnoticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/self-absorption-intensifies-isolation-but-permits-it-to-go-unnoticed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-george-jordan/life-is-a-state-of-constant-radiation-and-absorption-to-exist-is-to/) [William George Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-george-jordan/) > [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Selfishness and self-absorption are deadly charm-exterminators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/selfishness-and-self-absorption-are-deadly-charm-exterminators/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Prayer gives us relief from the melancholy burden of self-absorption .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-gives-us-relief-from-the-melancholy-burden-of-self-absorption/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ \[Pope Francis\]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the-gospel-and-of-friendship/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [The ecstasy and completion of absorption in God is so fantastic that you can't possibly have lost anything because all the things you've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-ecstasy-and-completion-of-absorption-in-god-is-so-fantastic-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ \[T\]he mass-man sees in the State an anonymous power, and feeling himself, like it, anonymous, he believes that the State is something of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/t-he-mass-man-sees-in-the-state-an-anonymous-power-and-feeling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“But the work had told upon the Editor. Work of that sort carries its penalties with it. Success means absorption, and absorption spells softening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/but-the-work-had-told-upon-the-editor-work-of-that-sort-carries-its/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) [Browse all 118 Absorption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendy Kaminer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/what-might-once-have-been-called-whining-is-now-exalted-as-a-process/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/what-might-once-have-been-called-whining-is-now-exalted-as-a-process/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/wendy-kaminer-16305_absorption_what-might-once-have-been-called-whining_2334344.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption…” — Wendy Kaminer", "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": "Wendy Kaminer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What might once have been called...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/what-might-once-have-been-called-whining-is-now-exalted-as-a-process/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/what-might-once-have-been-called-whining-is-now-exalted-as-a-process/#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 } } ] } ```