“That not all men are piggy, only some; that not all men belittle me, only some; that not all men get mad if you won’t let them play Chivalry, only some; that not all men write books in which women are idiots, only most; that not all men pull rank on me, only some; that not all men pinch their secretaries’ asses, only some; that not all men make obscene remarks to me in the street, only some; that not all men make more money than I do, only some; that not all men make more money than all women, only most; that not all men are rapists, only some; that not all men are promiscuous killers, only some; that not all men control Congress, the Presidency, the police, the army, industry, agriculture, law, science, medicine, architecture, and local government, only some.
I sat down on the lawn and wept.”
― On Strike Against God
I sat down on the lawn and wept.”
― On Strike Against God
“When Freud chose the vagina as his symbol of proper womanhood, he was drawing on what we knew from biology. This organ, he believed, had one job: to receive the penis. Its name reflects this: coined by Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio, “vagina” derives from the Latin for “scabbard,” “sheath,” or “close covering,” suggesting that its main function is to house a sword. (Although, oddly, the word penis comes from the Latin for “tail.”) For women to center their sexual desire on the vagina, therefore, meant to accept their role as penis recipients and baby-makers.”
― Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
― Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
“Your vagina is another planet. If you could shrink down to the size of a grain of sand and go between your own legs, you'd find a wondrous realm of humid jungles, cool caves, and viscous pits of mucus created by your teeming ecosystem of microscopic life. Like your gut or your mouth, your reproductive tract is home to billions of microbes, which work together to repel disease and create the ideal conditions for you. Its landscapes are populated by clusters of long, thin rods and hordes of tiny round balls that cling to its contours. These microbes live together in a delicate balance, spewing acid to stop would-be colonizers from worlds far-off (tampons, toys, penises) or nearby (the anus).”
― Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
― Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
“What Is Love? I have met in the streets a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, the water passed through his shoes and the stars through his soul”
― Les Misérables
― Les Misérables
Ivory’s 2025 Year in Books
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