How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph), For Prologue: (P.Paragraph), For Epilogue: (E.Paragraph), For footnotes: (Chapter.F.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"You have a wang-dang-doodle!" Tiara squeaked.
"Is that all that makes a guy a guy? What makes a girl a girl?"
And the girls found they could not answer. For they'd never been asked that question in the pageant prep. (9.82-84)
Transgender activists often make the point that Petra is making here: being one gender or the other is about more than just genitals. After all, the pageant girls experience being "girls" a lot differently from young females who play sports, or do other, less beauty-based activities—so if there are multiple kinds of girls, gender might not be as black-and-white as lots of folks are taught to think. At least Petra is getting the girls to think about it.
Quote #5
"Like it's so much pressure all the time and if you get upset or angry, people say, 'Are you on the rag or something?' And it's like I want to say, 'No. I'm just pissed off right now. Can't I just be pissed off? How come that's not okay for me?' Like my dad will say, 'I can't talk to you when you're hysterical.' And I'm totally not being hysterical! I'm just mad. And he's the one losing it. But then I feel embarrassed anyway. So I slap on that smile and pretend everything's okay even though it's not." (13.139)
Miss Montana doesn't feel like she is allowed to be angry, even though her father is. She's just labeled as emotional, and possibly PMS-ing, because she's female. Double standard, anyone?
Quote #6
"Why do girls always feel like they have to apologize for giving an opinion or taking up space in the world? Have you ever noticed that?" Nicole asked. "You go on websites and some girl leaves a post and if it's longer than three sentences or she's expressing her thoughts about some topic, she usually ends with, 'Sorry for the rant' or 'That may be dumb, but that's what I think.'" (13.142)
This remind you of anything? It's sort of like how Tiara didn't tell the girls useful information before because she was worried about bothering them. She didn't feel like she was important enough to take up space in their conversation. That may be a dumb quote to include, but it fits into the topic. (And no, we're not sorry.)