We live, I am trying to say, in an epidemic of male violence against women.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the serious issue of violence that men perpetrate against women, calling for awareness and action.
Katha Pollitt's quote addresses the alarming prevalence of male violence against women, suggesting that this issue has reached epidemic proportions. It urges society to acknowledge this reality and take steps towards preventing such violence, emphasizing the urgent need for change in attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate gender-based violence.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for women's rights.
I think the meaning of abortion is what the woman says it is: For a woman who wants a child but can't have this one, it can be sad; for a woman who doesn't want a baby, it can feel like a huge relief, like having your whole life given back to you.
We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision, and move on with their lives. We need to say that is their right, and, moreover, it's good for everyone that they have this right: The whole society benefits when motherhood is voluntary.
Misogyny runs deeper than religion.
We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. We cannot afford to use methods of which we will be ashamed when we look back, when we say, '...we shouldn't have done that.'
Strength is one of those things you're supposed to have. You don't feel that you have it at the time you're going through it.
Young Egyptians, gazing through the windows of the Internet, have gained a keener sense than many of their elders of the freedoms and opportunities they lack. They have found in social media a way to interact and share ideas, bypassing, in virtual space, the restrictions placed on physical freedom of assembly.
Naming things, breaking through taboos and denial is the most dangerous, terrifying, and crucial work. This has to happen in spite of political climates or coercions, in spite of careers being won or lost, in spite of the fear of being criticized, outcast, or disliked. I believe freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it.
It is a worthy thing to fight for one's freedom; it is another sight finer to fight for another man's.
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
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