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Quote by Roxane Gay

Work

Bad Feminist

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Bad Feminist is a compilation of personal essays that delve into the nuances of feminism and its intersection with everyday life. The book addresses topics such as race, gender, and the media, offering a candid and often humorous look at the author's own experiences and the broader issues affecting women today. more

Author

Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay is an American writer born in 1974. Her works include novels, non-fiction, short stories, and essays. Her notable works are 'Bad Feminist' and 'Hunger'. Her writing style is characterized by humor, honesty, and profound self-reflection. more

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“In my unhappiness I persuaded myself that my father's disdain for his daughter was the natural state of affairs, the healthy state, and my female nature was the plague. But here we are at the truth, and it is he who is sick and I am who am well. What is the poison in his body? Maybe it's himself.”

WomenMisogynyFathersDisdainFemalesFathers And DaughtersBeing Female
Book:Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
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“What the Swots had studied deeply was the art of forbidding things, and in a very short time they had forbidden painting, sculpture, music, theatre, film, journalism, hashish, voting, elections, individualism, disagreement, pleasure, happiness, pool tables, clean-shaven chins (on men), women’s faces, women’s bodies, women’s education, women’s sports, women’s rights. They would have liked to have forbidden women altogether but even they could see that that was not entirely feasible, so they contented themselves with making women’s lives as unpleasant as possible.”

WomenMisogynyForbiddenSuppressionBanningForbidding
Book:Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
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“Tu eri innamorato, naturalmente senza saperlo, della donna, di un’astrazione, e non di questa o di quella; quando hai visto Eugenia, quell’astrazione ha trovato una forma concreta: la donna è diventata una donna e tu te ne sei innamorato, e adesso la vai cercando, senza mai lasciarla, in quasi tutte le donne, e ti innamori dell’insieme, del genere. Sei passato, insomma, dall’astratto al concreto, e dal concreto al generico, dalla donna a una donna, e da una donna alle donne».”

LoveWomen
Book:Niebla
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“Noi uomini siamo davvero uomini solo perché ci sono i cani, i gatti, i cavalli, i buoi, le pecore e tutti gli altri animali, soprattutto quelli domestici! Forse che l’uomo avrebbe conquistato la sua umanità se gli fossero mancati gli animali domestici su cui scaricare il peso della bestialità della vita? Se l’uomo non avesse addomesticato il cavallo, oggi la metà della nostra progenie sarebbe in groppa all’altra metà! Sì, è a voi che si deve la civilizzazione! E alle donne. E non sarà che anche la donna è un animale domestico? E se non ci fossero le donne, gli uomini sarebbero uomini lo stesso?”

MenWomenMankindAnimals
Book:Niebla
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“When you want to be a woman, follow my advice. Speak in a thin, pretty voice. It has to be high-pitched. Try pushing it up into your nose. Cover your mouth when you laugh. Press down firmly and neatly when writing. Grow your hair to your shoulders. Curls are discouraged. Flap your wrists often. Show enthusiasm about grocery shopping and cooking. Beef up your cooking skills. Be unfailingly kind to others—especially men. Use your charm to get out of danger. Fall in love with a man. Eat very little. Even if you really want to finish it, leave some on your plate. Make sure you attain a slim figure and maintain it for your whole life. Play dumb, with no regard for your actual intelligence. Disparage your driving. Be chatty. Try your best to sincerely enjoy cleaning and doing laundry. Think of weakness as a virtue, and let your strength rot away. Wear makeup even in your dreams. Wear bright clothing. Conceal your sexual appetite, and take it to your grave. Become shyness incarnate. . . . There’s a fuckton more where that all comes from. I just couldn’t write it all down. To act the part of a woman, you’ve got to memorize a hefty script.”

WomenBeauty StandardsUnrealistic Standards
Book:Walking Practice
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