Lauren

“I am tired of faking confidence or being told that my lack thereof is a fault when it seems to me the most natural reaction I could possibly have to the lifelong feedback women are given. I don't want to be confident or inspirational and I don't really want to buck up anymore because the faking takes more energy sometimes than the work itself.”
― Jessica Valenti, Sex Object: A Memoir

“Being treated nicely felt wrong somehow, as if we were acting out what a relationship should be rather than being in it. For men who hate women, an admission like this one is proof that see, women want a guy who treats them like shit but that's not true either. What is closer to the truth is that when confronted with the love you deserve, it is easier to mock it than accept it.”
― Jessica Valenti, Sex Object: A Memoir

“Mitch studied me with a questioning, smug smile. Men did it so easily, that immediate parceling of value. And how they seemed to want you to collude on your own judgement.”
― Emma Cline, The Girls

“The truth is, there is no better place to live than in the shadow of a beautiful, furious mountain.”
― Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House