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Quote by Camille Paglia

“Woman was an idol of belly-magic. She seemed to swell and give birth by her own law... Man honored but feared her. She was the black maw that had spat him forth and would devour him anew. Men, bonding together, invented culture as a defense against female nature... from this ... has come the spectacular glory of male civilization, which has lifted woman with it. The very language and logic modern woman uses to assail patriarchal culture were the invention of men. Hence, the sexes are caught in a comedy of historical indebtedness. Man, repelled by his debt to a physical mother, created an alternate reality, a heterocosm to give him the illusion of freedom. Woman, at first content to accept man's protections but now inflamed with desire for her own illusory freedom, invades man's systems and suppresses her indebtedness to him as she steals them.”

Quote by Camille Paglia

Work

Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism

This book delves into the complexities of sex and gender, examining the intersection of these concepts with feminism. It provides a comprehensive look at the historical and contemporary aspects of gender identity and its impact on society. more

Author

Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia

Camille Paglia is an American academic, cultural critic, and author known for her controversial views on a variety of cultural and social issues. Born on April 2, 1947, she has taught at several universities and has written numerous books and articles on topics such as art, literature, and gender studies. more

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“My view is that, using Woodhouse’s own words, the male-to-female transsexual is a “fantastic woman, ” the incarnation of a male fantasy of feeling like a woman trapped in a man’s body, the fantasy rendered flesh by a further male medical fantasy of surgically fashioning a male body into a female one. These fantasies are based in the male imagination, not in any female reality. It is this female reality that the surgically-constructed woman does not possess, not because women innately carry some essence of femininity but because these men have not had to live in a female body with all the history that entails. It is that history that is basic to female reality, and yes, history is based to a certain extent on female biology.”

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“Sapevano, come dobbiamo sapere noi, che il patriarcato è un sistema muscolare e rispetta solo ciò che teme. Per questo, per raggiungere quelli che oggi chiamiamo traguardi, migliaia di donne hanno pagato col disprezzo della loro famiglia, hanno perso il rispetto borghese delle loro comunità, la possibilità di vivere vite tranquille e, in alcuni casi, perfino la vita. Dobbiamo essere loro grate e il modo migliore per farlo è non dimenticare che quei diritti esistono solo finché restiamo pronte a tirare fuori le unghie per difenderli.”