288 Quotes About Gender-roles

... I felt that it was not so different from all the other advice handed out to women, to girls, advice that assumed being female made you damageable, that a certain amount of carefulness and solemn fuss and self-protection were called for, whereas men were supposed to be able to go out and take on all kinds of experiences and shuck off what they didn’t want and come back proud. Without even thinking about it, I had decided to do the same

We are taught we can redeem them, she said to me once. We are taught it as soon as we can read. We can turn the beast into a prince, if only we love him enough.

Rio: – What the hell is the point of worrying about it? I don’t see Geer or Pang or Stick moping.Jen: – No, […]. They’re all busy being men. […] We’re not men, Rio. We don’t have to be men.

People assigned genders based on behaviors and work roles, often ignoring anatomy. Gender was a form of social recognition.

Edda Marty: – No, voi non mi avete mai, neanche tu Momi, presa per il mio verso. Non m’avete capita. Io volli essere semplicemente un vostro compagno, e voi m’avete sempre respinto e ricacciato nel mio sesso, mi avete costretto a restar donna perché vi facessi male.

Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.

Once established, the young girl's dependency is systematically supported as she proceeds through childhood. For being "nice" - nonchallenging, nonconfronting, noncomplaining - she's rewarded with good grades, the approval of her parents and teachers, and the affection of her peers. What reason is there for her to turn deviant or nonconformist? The going is good, so she conforms. Increasingly, she patterns herself after what's expected of her.

The woman who realizes that she is bound by a million Lilliputian threads in an attitude of impotence and hatred masquerading as tranquility and love has no option but to run away, if she is not to be corrupted and extinguished utterly.

Much of what is considered "good" in little girls is considered downright repulsive in little boys. Physical timidity or hypercautiousness, being quietly "well behaved", and depending on others for help and support are thought to be natural - if not outright charming - in girls. Boys, however, are actively discouraged from the dependent forms of relating, which are considered "sissyish" in male children.