"How can we humanize the gender roles so that young men are raised to understand that they have all human qualities? We've had the courage to raise our daughters more like our sons, but fewer of us have had the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters. Those so-called feminine qualities are only the qualities you need to raise children: empathy, patience, flexibility, compassion. They're present in every man just as they are in every woman." -Gloria Steinem [A 21st Century Feminism]
This is my Go-To quote for nearly every essay/paper I've had to write for my major within Women's Studies [between the two colleges I've attended] — it's so true, and it opens to an even deeper discussion about the socialization of children about gender. I was first introduced to this speech by Gloria Steinem during a Jan Term course entitled "Women and Madness: A Sociological Perspective of the Female Mind." I was so fortunate to hear her speak and to meet with her (that's my fellow P.Inc [Peace Incorporated] co-founders and I in the photo above). Ms. Steinem is without a doubt one of the wisest souls I've ever met. Her talks are discourses, instead of lectures, a tool which enables her to touch on controversial topics without alienating her diverse audiences. After the jump is an audio recording (it will auto-play) to the talk which originated this quote... in her words, 'leave with one new idea... for the better."
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