Wit & Attitude Quote by Andrew Cohen

A line like this tries to do two things at once: name a social reality and implicate everyone in maintaining it. Cohen’s most effective move is the blunt, almost weary framing of “this crazy world,” which signals that the problem isn’t a few bad actors but a baseline cultural setting. “It is true” functions less as a claim to be debated than as a preemptive shrug at the predictable backlash: he’s treating the observation as obvious, which is precisely how norms survive.

The intent is diagnostic, but the subtext is about complicity. By insisting that “both men and women” participate in measuring women’s value through appearance, he sidesteps the comforting story that sexism is solely something men do to women. That widening of responsibility can read as bracingly honest, or as strategically flattening: it risks turning power imbalances into a generic “we” problem. The phrase “measure” is doing heavy lifting, importing a market logic that makes objectification feel procedural, almost rational, rather than cruel. And “identified with their bodies” isn’t just about being looked at; it’s about being reduced to the visible, trapped in a permanent audition.

Contextually, the quote lands in a media environment where women’s credibility is routinely bundled with “presentation” - from workplace expectations to celebrity culture to social platforms that monetize attention. It’s also a self-aware disclaimer from a male writer stepping into feminist territory: he establishes empathy while keeping a careful distance from prescribing solutions. The sting is in the final clause: “as human beings.” It forces the reader to confront how quickly “appearance” becomes a proxy for personhood, and how normal that has become.