Repression is a seamless garment; a society which is authoritarian in its social and sexual codes, which crushes its women beneath the intolerable burdens of honour and propriety, breeds repressions of other kinds as well.

Salman Rushdie
About This Quote

In the quote "Repression is a seamless garment," the author, Simone de Beauvoir, is saying that repression can be carried out by a society in many different ways. It can be done through a society's social codes and moral values. A repressive society will also repress the sexuality of its members. In her chapter "Repression of Sexuality," Beauvoir explains why a repressive society acts this way.

She argues that a repressive society, by suppressing its sexual desires, is almost forced to repress other forms of desire as well. Repression of sexuality is one of the most damaging forms of repression because it prevents people from developing healthy relationships with one another.

Source: Shame

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