Men are enforced into a kind of silence about their gender; they're supposed to not think of it as a performance. That's the definition of manliness - that it's not a performance; it's being yourself, authentic. Whereas women have understood gender as performance. Men have not yet made that quantum leap, or rather they're making it in many ways, they're not thinking about it.
Stephen MarcheMarriage is not one point of view: it's a constant back and forth over different perspectives - a healthy marriage, anyway.
Stephen MarcheToronto may be the only city where novels are integral to high art, the alternative scene and mainstream culture all at the same time.
Stephen MarcheWhen you look at the biggest study of the American dream, the number-one correlate for upward mobility is having two parents in a home. It doesn't matter if they're male or female.
Stephen MarcheMen who define themselves as breadwinners are going to have to leave the traditional iconography of masculinity behind if they want to be breadwinners.
Stephen MarcheTo me, there's two definitions of feminism. One is that you believe that women are equal human beings; that's not really a philosophy, it's just obvious. And the other is that you're actually fighting for women: you're promoting women and working towards the betterment of women.
Stephen MarcheOne [paradox] is that pornography follows in that wake of women's liberation. The first instances of hard-core pornography were in late 18th-century in France, "the Golden Age of Women." The next wave in the 20th century comes from Sweden, one of the first countries where women voted. Then Germany, again, at the forefront of progress. Then America in the '80s, when women were closing the pay gap. And Japan, same thing.
Stephen Marche