Philip Roth Quotes

Most men are fragile.

I love watching Marty Scorsese's films, but they always make me feel terrible about being a man.

Most men have an insecurity of some sort. But we're brought up to believe that we can't show them.

Most men act so tough and strong on the outside because on the inside, we are scared, weak, and fragile. Men, not women, are the weaker sex.

I'm fascinated by male vulnerability.

The tragedy of machismo is that a man is never quite man enough.

One of the things I've been interested in my whole career is exploring masculinity and what it means to be a man. The sensitivity of a man, but also the violence and power that goes along with it.

A lot of men think that if they smile for a second, somebody will take advantage of them, and they are right.

I do believe that men can be emasculated by successful women. I don't think I'm emasculating. But I have seen the dynamic with men who either don't make money or make less money. It's just not good for them.

In terms of men being feminist allies, it's just important to speak from your own place. I'd love to hear men singing about masculinity and the damage it does to them.

With wives, men hide behind the air of bravado, which is basically a defence mechanism, I think. Clever creatures, women. Very clever.

I like men. They are hugely entertaining, but they have a lot of shortcomings and you just have to bear those in mind.

I think part of being masculine is not needing to prove it and not needing to answer for it.

Men walk this tightrope where any sign of weakness illicits shame, and so they're afraid to make themselves vulnerable for fear of looking weak.

Hollywood is run by men who are big on vulnerability.

My dad's a beautiful man, but like a lot of Mexican men, or men in general, a lot of men have a problem with the balance of masculinity and femininity - intuition and compassion and tenderness - and get overboard with the macho thing. It took him a while to become more, I would say, conscious, evolved.

Guys have a level of insecurity and vulnerability that's exponentially bigger than you think. With the primal urge to be alpha comes extreme heartbreak. The harder we fight, the harder we fall.

I think there are a lot of men who feel they're being emasculated by having the woman be in charge; I've never had that problem.

How could you not love Norman Mailer? He was a total chauvinist, but also so vulnerable.

I'm at the point, frankly, where I'd rather deal with a misogynist with a copy of Tucker Max's book in his backpack over someone in sensitive emo-boy clothing, because both are misogynists, only the one with the backpack is more honest about just how scared of women he is.

Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all down - it keeps us from growing.

Like many traditional feminists, I became one of the boys, only better. For a while it gave me a buzz to win at their game, but ultimately, that kind of power just goes nowhere. Traditional feminism excludes men and so perpetuates conflict. I am not interested in warring about power.

Men! The only animal in the world to fear.

Men think they already know me. But as they get closer and closer, they become that 14-year-old again. A lot of men do stammer and blush a little bit.

No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful, than the man who is anxious about his virility.