Kerri

“Just as it did in the nineteenth century, the notion that the victims were 'only prostitutes' seeks to perpetuate the belief that there are good women and bad women; madonnas and whores. It suggests that there is an acceptable standard of female behaviour and those that deviate from it are fit to be punished. Equally, it assists in reasserting the double standard , exonerating men from wrongs committed against such women. These attitudes may not feel as prevalent as they were in 1888, but they persist - not proffered in general conversation... but, rather integrated subtly into the fabric of our social norms.”
― Hallie Rubenhold, The Five: The Lives of Jack the Ripper's Women

“my heart told me incontrovertibly that neither gender could go far without the other. So, in my story, neither the woman nor the man can get free without the other.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan

“I thought about how people seemed always to keep their distance. And how I always made sure to keep mine.

The schoolmaster, Mr. Henderson, had sanitized the door latch I'd touched. And Mr. Johnson, the postmaster, had wanted to sanitize my letter before he handled it. Two people slow to change. But the others?

I suppose I ought to think about them one by one.”
― Lauren Wolk, Beyond the Bright Sea

“Don't you understand, Crow?" he said, his voice so sad, so tender, that I couldn't breathe. "You're the one worth finding.”
― Lauren Wolk, Beyond the Bright Sea