Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings Quotes

“If a woman can be the attorney general or the secretary of state, what’s keeping you from climbing up the career ladder? You want to complain about the glass ceiling, the lack of childcare, or your boss’s assumption that you don’t deserve a promotion because women don’t perform well under pressure? People in our postfeminist world don’t want to hear about it. They want you to find a way around the impediment. Whining about obstacles won’t solve anything, so get over it. Adjust your attitude. You’re not one of those uptight feminists, are you? Don’t you know that gender equality has been accomplished? Haven’t you heard that feminists keep women down by making them insecure about their ability to compete as men’s equals? They are a defeatist bunch, complaining about minor issues. Surely you won’t let trivial hindrances conquer you! Surely you’ll find a way to make something of yourself. Surely you’ll beat the odds.”
― Mari Ruti, Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life

“However, given how often these scripts fail to deliver what they promise—how often we don’t attain either wealth or fame, our vacations end up being stressful, our friendships complicated, our marriages devastating, and our children rebellious—their persistence as cultural ideals is striking.”
― Mari Ruti, Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life

“When male colleagues less accomplished than I am tell me that I’m not ready for a promotion, I may think, “Now might be the time for a little penis envy.” When I find out that I’m being underpaid in comparison to male colleagues who haven’t published nearly as much as I have, or taught as many students as I have, or supervised as many dissertations as I have—that is, who haven’t worked nearly as hard as I have—I may think, “Now might be the time for some grumbling.” When the building manager gives my office to a new male hire fifteen years my junior—specifying (I kid you”
― Mari Ruti, Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life