Feist of the day

From our favorite Spinster Auntie:

Because feminization is among the first steps taken to socialize children, and because it is so readily accepted, deeply internalized, and staunchly defended, it is the primary foundation of patriarchy.

Watching grandma put Speck into a series of frilly dresses during her visits, I cringe in anticipation of the larger battles to come -- against Otherness, against the right to just Be. (But Twisty's point applies more broadly as well, of course.)