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.
Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a seductive marketing campaign. The idea of women moving through the world as freely as men should sell itself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Feminism aims for a more equitable future for all, emphasizing the importance of women's freedom and equality.
In this quote, Roxane Gay expresses her vision of feminism as a movement that should inherently resonate with everyone, as it promotes a future where all individuals, regardless of gender, can navigate the world without restrictions. She suggests that the principles of feminism should be so universally appealing that they do not require elaborate marketing or persuasion to gain acceptance; rather, the simple idea of equality should be compelling enough on its own.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on gender equality, this quote can highlight the importance of feminism in achieving a just society.
More from Roxane Gay
All quotes βI 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.
Public intellectuals are often put in the position of having their words, no matter how off-the-cuff, treated as doctrine.
No one is helped when cultural critics use their voices irresponsibly.
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.
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.
Similar quotes
Every day, we hear of civilians being killed and wounded in violation of the basic rules of international humanitarian law and with total impunity. Instability is spreading. Suffering is growing. No country can remain untouched.
You don't think you'll live past it and you don't really. The person you were is gone. But the half of you that's still alive wakes up one day and takes over again.
Nothing is going to change, unless someone does something soon
Yet when we achieved, and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to remake it in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win, but had not learned to keep: and was pitiably weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace.
But say some, would you expose woman to the contact of rough, rude, drinking, swearing, fighting men at the ballot box? What a humiliating confession lies in this plea for keeping woman in the background!
We can look forward to the day when the free flow of trade, from the southern reaches of Tierra del Fuego to the northern outposts of the Arctic Circle, unites the people of the Western Hemisphere in a bond of mutually beneficial exchange, when all borders become what the U.S.-Canadian border so long has been: a meeting place, rather than a dividing line.