Without a doubt there are women who would vote intelligently. There are also men who knit socks beautifully.
Interpretation
The quote highlights that both genders possess diverse talents and abilities, regardless of traditional stereotypes.
H.L. Mencken's quote suggests that societal norms often pigeonhole individuals based on their gender, implying that men and women may be unfairly categorized. By recognizing the capacity of women to vote intelligently and men to engage in activities like knitting, Mencken advocates for a broader understanding of skills and intelligence beyond gender boundaries, emphasizing the individuality and unique capabilities of each person.
In practice
In a discussion about gender roles at a workplace seminar.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication-- Steve Jobs turned this into the slogan behind an early Mac advertising campaign. Which doesn't make it less true.
Chances are, if you are following the crowd, you're following the wrong path.
Pride is a tricky, glorious, double-edged feeling.
The State is concentric, but the individual is eccentric.
We have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world.
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