Nochlin argued that significant societal barriers have prevented women from pursuing art, including restrictions on educating women in art academies and "the entire romantic, elitist, individual-glorifying, and monograph-producing substructure upon which the profession of art history is based ".
Nochlin argumentou que importantes barreiras sociais impediron que as mulleres busquen a arte, incluídas as restricións sobre a educación das mulleres nas academias de arte e "toda a subestrutura individual e monográfica romántica, elitista e glorificadora sobre a que se basea a profesión da historia da arte".