That age “progressively destroys” women, but not men, is the crux of what Susan Sontag termed the double standard of aging, back in 1972.
Ashley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit
So much of what I had thought of as femininity was really just youth.
Miranda July • All Fours: A Novel
a young age, girls are taught to control and suppress their emotions, to be constantly kind and perpetually pleasant. This expectation of emotional suppression and control is perfectly summed up with the quote from Maggie Royer, “woman’s first blood doesn’t come from between her legs but from biting her tongue”