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Quote by Cynthia Enloe

“Taking my mother's experiences seriously led to my exploring the militarisation of marriages. It made me alert to what feminist historians have been telling us now for four decades: pay attention to the feminised silences - not just silences due to oppression, but silence flowing from many women's belief that their wartime experiences don't "matter" - that they are merely private, trivial, apolitical. Men wage war; women simply "cope" with wartime. Coping does not make for exciting history.”

Quote by Cynthia Enloe

Work

Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy

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Cynthia Enloe

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“Ultimately, the witch craze was not the result of just one single factor. Rather, it was a conglomeration of influences that worked together over the span of hundreds of years to shape early modern Europe into the ideal environment for a continent-wide witch hunt: misogyny, patriarchy, religious tyranny, scapegoating, land disputes, the rise of capitalism, shifting views about magic, political propaganda, and an established history of persecution and violence.”

“Women suffer an immense burden of impression management concerning everyday behaviours, many of which are the same behaviours required for success. Assertive women risk being seen as 'bossy,' whereas assertive men are considered 'decisive.' Women prepared to have a difficult conversation are 'ball breakers,' whereas men are just expected to 'speak the truth.' Women risk being perceived differently to men for displaying the same behaviours, saying the same things, in the same way, in the same context. Women feel the pressure of considering how they will be perceived to avoid being judged less favourably.”

“People who would not ordinarily reach for a sexist stereotype - let alone consciously act on it - find themselves behaving in a way that inadvertently denounces a woman's competence solely because that idea of incompetence is deeply ingrained in a sexist stereotype: an image of women that should be kind and caring and not critical or judgemental. Any deviation sees women being disliked and denigrated, with their competence being brought into question.”

“Too many women are smeared just for occupying their [male] space. Particularly those whose space involves holding power. For women who venture into governance, the spreading of fake news and disinformation has been particularly pronounced. Research has found that female politicians are targeted far more than their male peers.”

“It's got to be disappointing, being called all those things." Nancy thinks: How long has she been doing this? Nearly twenty years--she can pin it to the month. The answer to that question can never untie itself from her husband's death: when Howard was killed, Nancy ran. Since then she has been called, among other things, a bitch, a cunt, a slut. Hysterical, emotional, irrational. Too fat, too thin, too tall, too short. Murderer of a husband, mother of a faggot, destroyer of liberty. A harpy, a ballbuster, a snowflake, a traitor. But also: a fighter. A role model. Sunglasses on, coat collar popped, walking down the Capitol steps. A hope, and probably just as often, a threat. The reason that the Republic might ultimately prevail, but also the source of its ultimate demise. She says: "America is disappointing, Cate. That's why we do what we do.”