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Quote by Judith Butler

“Sometimes ‘reality’ is used to debunk as childish or unknowledgeable points of view that actually are holding out a more radical possibility of equality or freedom or democracy or justice.… It reminds me of parents who say, ‘Oh, you’re gay…’ or ‘Oh, you’re trans—well, of course I accept you, but it’s going to be a very hard life.’ Instead of saying, ‘This is a new world, and we are going to build it together…”

Quote by Judith Butler

Author

Judith Butler
Judith Butler

Judith Butler is a renowned philosopher, born on February 24, 1956. Her research focuses on issues of gender, identity, and power, having a profound impact on postmodernism and gender theory. more

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“Something began to happen within me that I did not have the means to comprehend, like a disintegration and re-amalgamation of my soul. What I had no hope to communicate in words began to reveal itself in whatever way it could: in a smile, in a teardrop, in an exhalation that gave heat to the wind. As everything familiar began to mix with the unknown, an awareness began to galvanize from somewhere deep inside of me that I was on my way to becoming something far greater than just one of the many forked paths that whirled before me. In a way, I would become all of them, and more. It was like I had not one, but an infinite number of existences, all of which were true. In that moment, as I stood in the center of my own expanse of possibility, I felt the full immensity of life, for I’d just realized I was limitless.”

“I have always felt I had to try to prove to myself what I can do. It was also exhilarating riding on the tide of the women’s movement because it opened up so many possibilities for us. I remember feeling quite sorry for the guys because we women had a larger menu of choices: we could be full-time mothers and housewives, or a full-time career women, or a combination of both. The men’s choices were far more restricted and, of course, pressure on them to succeed was also greater. Whereas the pressure on women was partly self-generated, for men, it was the social expectations to be the main breadwinner.”