Carol Shields Quotes

Patriarchy is bestowed on men at birth. Whether you want it or not, you have a privilege as a man, and you either fight against it and reject it by becoming a feminist man, or you enjoy the privileges that come with it.

What works for a man, still does not work for a woman - both in terms of how they see themselves and how we see them.

I'm supposed to have a Ph.D. on the subject of women. But the truth is I've flunked more often than not. I'm very fond of women; I admire them. But, like all men, I don't understand them.

Black men don't like to be called 'boys,' but women accept being called 'girls.'

I was in fact pretty much - by the larger culture, by the local culture, by people around me, by people on TV - encouraged to imagine women as something slightly inferior to men.

Feminism justified female 'victim power' by convincing the world that we lived in a sexist, male-dominated, and patriarchal world.

Too often, women are portrayed in two ways: as prizes to be won by men or as damsels in distress.

Much-derided chick lit, chick flicks, and chick magazines have left ambitious women in a bind. Why is it that I, a young woman, can read 'GQ,' enjoy 'Fight Club,' and subscribe to 'Thrillist,' while the idea of a guy doing the same with 'Glamour,' '27 Dresses' and 'Daily Candy' is nearly unheard of?

I've never felt like a woman fighting in a male world; I've never felt penalised.

I was watching something the other day which started out with five guys walking towards you and one woman, and there you go-it's still being dominated by the male society.

Men are born privileged in the scale of things - I'm generalizing, but it's true. Women have to define themselves in the eyes of men. They have to fight for their rights, especially in a society that will pretend that there is no fight or no battle, that it's a cliche, that feminists are reactionary, all these things.

There is still the feeling that women's writing is a lesser class of writing, that what goes on in the nursery or the bedroom is not as important as what goes on in the battlefield, that what women know about is a less category of knowledge.

How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.

The law sees and treats women the way men see and treat women.

Women have to stand up to tremendous discriminatory practices, whether inherited traditions, whether imposed norms, male perceptions of power and control. The women always have to go through that and cannot take any privilege for granted.

No woman is really an insider in the institutions fathered by masculine consciousness.

I do see the world as being different for girls - especially now, having daughters.

I've definitely had my struggles with the male species, as I'm sure most girls have.

As women and men, we're not primed and taught to feel that women are as inspirational as men.

Throughout history, women have often been treated as second-class citizens and their voices silenced.

You see, feminists don't really like to define the Patriarchy. They prefer to keep it nebulous and amorphous so they can conveniently blame it for everything that goes wrong in their lives. Not being paid enough? Patriarchy! Not getting a promotion? Patriarchy! Too many catcalls? Patriarchy! Too few catcalls? Patriarchy!

The American woman's inequality with men is proved by her defiant attitude.

Emancipated' women found out that the honesty, generosity, and camaraderie of men was a lie.

I nodded. A man's world. But what did it mean? That men whistled and stared and yelled things at you, and you had to take it, or you get raped or beat up? A man's world meant places men could go but not women. It meant they had more money,and didn't have kids, not the way women did, to look after every second. And it meant that women loved them more than they loved the women, that they could want something with all their hearts, and then not.

When men attempt bold gestures, generally it's considered romantic. When women do it, it's often considered desperate or psycho.