How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
Anyhow, commencements are usually operated under the unspoken agreement that everybody graduating is either male or ought to be. That's why we are all wearing these twelfth-century dresses that look so great on men and make women look either like a mushroom or a pregnant stork. (4-5)
Would you say this is as true today as it was in 1983? We still wear the unflattering robes, but is it due to an unspoken misogynistic agreement, or just an unhealthy attachment to tradition?
Quote #2
Intellectual tradition is male. Public speaking is done in the public tongue, the national or tribal language; and the language of our tribe is the men's language. Of course women learn it. We're not dumb. If you can tell Margaret Thatcher from Ronald Reagan, or Indira Gandhi from General Somoza, by anything they say, tell me how. This is a man's world, so it talks a man's language. (6-11)
What do you think about this quote? Do women have to learn how to speak like men in order to publicly express themselves? Are there examples from the present day that might support this claim?
Quote #3
Women as women are largely excluded from, alien to, the self-declared male norms of this society, where human beings are called Man, the only respectable god is male, the only direction is up. (41)
Do you think men did this on purpose, or is this just a sad reflection of the status quo? Le Guin is insinuating the former, and she almost makes it sound like a vast conspiracy to oppress women. For a woman in 1983, this probably felt like that was the case.