“Even though I was the one to propose, it felt like submitting to a norm rather than subverting one.”— Harling Ross, manrepeller.com
“I am used to being an observer. I am used to not getting what I want. I am used to imagining what it must be like.”— Cherríe Moraga, amazon.com
“But women have lust, too. Why should they be relegated to the position of custodian of emotions, watcher of infants, feeder of soul, body and pride of man?”— Sylvia Plath, amazon.com
“Nobody knows as yet what is normal - we only know what is customary.”— Dr. Harry Benjamin, profeminist.tumblr.com
“Now men are afraid to be men. They think being a real man is actually being a pussy, that if you take a chair out for a lady, or you’re nice or even affectionate to your girl in front of your boys, you’re less of a man. It’s so sick. They won’t be a gentleman because that makes them appear soft. Tha…”— Rihanna, vanityfair.com
“My father’s notion of being a man was also flexible. As I grew from a child of the 70s to an adult of the 90s, it grew with me. I learned that sometimes a man should back down from a fight; that real men are also feminists; and that not being seen as a ‘sissy’ is meaningless, while not being homopho…”— Matthew Ryder, theguardian.com
“Being a man was not the opposite of being feminine or emotional. It was the opposite of being childish and immature. It meant having the courage to face your fears and responsibilities, but also not being afraid of your emotions or weaknesses.”— Matthew Ryder, theguardian.com
“Men have often given their female offspring more opportunities than their female partners, perhaps seeing their children as extensions of themselves. Even today, many men find themselves newly appalled at sexism after having a girl, a reaction apparently not stoked by being born of a woman, married…”— Jill Filipovic, nytimes.com
“Forcing people to adhere to outmoded, rigid notions of identity isn’t good for anybody—men, women, gay, straight, transgender, or otherwise. These stereotypes limit our ability to simply be ourselves.”— Barack Obama, glamour.com
“So we need to break through these limitations. We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear. We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their s…”— Barack Obama, glamour.com
“So I encourage everyone to do more than seek out a label - seek out yourself”— Equality Speaks, youtube.com
“My gender is a murmuration of starlings. My sexuality is a chainsaw made of lavender.”— Casey Rocheteau, siblingrivalrypress.bigcartel.com
“When I say ‘women,’ I just mean ‘not men,’’ I have heard people protest when these issues are brought up — and I get that. It’s easier. It’s simple: 'women’ equals 'not men.’ But for many of us, neither are applicable terms. And when groups refuse to acknowledge or engage in conversations about marg…”— Sam Escobar, femsplain.com
“When I asked [my dad why the sky was blue] he said it was because God’s a boy. If God were a girl, the sky would be pink. ‘What about sunrise and sunset?’ I’d asked. Dad had looked dumbfounded. 'You kids. You think too much.’ It frightened me how shallow the gene pool was that Liam and I were wading…”— Julie Anne Peters, amazon.com
“Why at this late date are we still reinforcing the idea that women are modest and fragile and in need of gender-specific accommodations?”— Molly Oswaks, theatlantic.com