82 – “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”

– Margaret Atwood [Paraphrased, see below]

Quote Number: 1082

Source: Atwood, Margeret. “Writing the Male Character” in Second Words: Selected Critical Prose. Toronto: House of Anansi Press. 1982. Pg 413.

Source Notes:  This quote has several variations, but all trace back to this quote from “Writing the Male Character.” The quote in full is:

“Why do men feel threatened by women?” I asked a male friend of mine. So this male friend of mine, who does by the way exist, conveniently entered into the following dialogue. “I mean,” I said, “men are bigger, most of the time, they can run faster, strangle better, and they have on the average a lot more money and power.” “They’re afraid women will laugh at them,” he said. “Undercut their world view.” Then I asked some women students in a quickie poetry seminar I was giving, “Why do women feel threatened by men?” “They’re afraid of being killed,” they said.”

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