I think there are a lot of rules for women. We have a lot of expectations and a lot of rules for women. So we're expected to march in a straight line, and when we don't, all hell breaks loose.
Roxane GayRead
When feminism falls short of our expectations, we decide the problem is with feminism rather than with the flawed people who act in the name of the movement.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the tendency to blame feminism itself for shortcomings instead of recognizing human flaws within the movement.
Roxane Gay highlights a common issue within social movements, particularly feminism, where individuals may feel disillusioned when the movement does not meet their ideals. Instead of recognizing that shortcomings can arise from human imperfections, critics may unjustly attribute the failures to feminism as a concept, overlooking the ongoing struggles and complexities of the fight for equality.
Themes
FeminismExpectationsMovementCritiqueHuman Flaws
In practice
Example use cases
During a women's rights conference, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of accountability within the feminist movement.
More from Roxane Gay
All quotes →I believe in the freedom of expression, unequivocally - though, as I have written before, I wish more people would understand that freedom of expression is not freedom from consequence.
Roxane GayRead
Public intellectuals are often put in the position of having their words, no matter how off-the-cuff, treated as doctrine.
Roxane GayRead
No one is helped when cultural critics use their voices irresponsibly.
Roxane GayRead
I have never dreamed of being a princess. I have not longed for Prince Charming. I have and do long for something resembling a happily ever after. I am supposed to be above such flights of fantasy, but I am not. I am enamored of fairy tales.
Roxane GayRead
There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions because we aren't addressing what must be done to change the current racial climate.
Roxane GayRead
Similar quotes
Justice is the means by which established injustices are sanctioned
Anatole FranceRead
If one rejects laissez faire on account of mans fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here, and if it became worse and harder even—the French air clears up the brain and does good—a world of good.
Vincent Van GoghRead
In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. We like to think that we value individuality, but mostly we admire the type of individual who's comfortable 'putting himself out there.'
Susan CainRead
No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.
Kofi AnnanRead
They came from the four corners of the earth, driven by hunger, plague, tumors, and the cold, and stopped here. They couldn’t go any futrther because of the ocean. That’s France, that’s the French people.
Louis-Ferdinand CelineRead