Daily Inspiration Quote by Mae West

Mae West knew how to turn a dirty joke into a power play, and this line is a perfect little machine for it. "I've been in more laps than a napkin" isn’t just a gag about promiscuity; it’s a boast about being desired and, more importantly, being unbothered by the moral accounting that desire usually triggers for women. The napkin comparison is crucial: domestic, disposable, an accessory to polite society. West drags that prim object into the gutter with a grin, exposing how flimsy the boundary is between "respectable" and "risque."

The intent is comic provocation with a professional edge. West built her persona on sexual frankness delivered with immaculate timing, at a moment when Hollywood’s Production Code and broader public culture were busy trying to launder sex out of speech. She doesn’t argue with censorship; she sidesteps it. "Lap" is simultaneously innocent (someone’s knees) and unmistakably erotic (the space of flirtation, performance, and transaction). The punchline lands because the first meaning can pass as a misunderstanding while the second meaning is the whole point.

Subtext: she’s indicting the hypocrisy that consumes women as entertainment while pretending to punish them for it. A napkin gets used and tossed; West flips that script by making "use" sound like leverage. She’s not confessing. She’s collecting receipts, then lighting them on fire.