Being taught to despise your body is being taught to perhaps admire someone else's body more than yours - being taught that your body is good for certain things and not for others.
Wangechi MutuRead
Gold and precious gems are, in many places, the one form of wealth a woman can use to protect and enhance herself within the elaborate structure of patriarchy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how women use wealth, specifically gold and gems, to assert their autonomy in a patriarchal society.
Wangechi Mutu's quote reflects the complex relationship between wealth and gender. In societies governed by patriarchal structures, traditional forms of wealth such as gold and precious gems can empower women, allowing them to fortify their social status and provide a means of self-advocacy. This reflects the challenge women face in a system that often limits their rights and freedoms, showing that material wealth can serve as a tool for self-protection and expression within these confines.
Themes
WealthWomenPatriarchyGoldEmpowerment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a women's empowerment seminar to discuss financial independence.
More from Wangechi Mutu
All quotes βThe ocean is the source of life. We all come from there. I think about these one-celled creatures, and I think about the planet. It is related to my obsession with biology, even if it's only a layperson's obsession. The way I visualise what's at the bottom of the ocean is very much to do with how I feel when I'm swimming in the sea.
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I've always loved the idea that you think you know what you're looking at from a distance, yet when you come up close, it gets intricate and nutty and obscene and provocative.
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