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Coming to terms with the rhythms of women's lives means coming to terms with life itself, accepting the imperatives of the body rather than the imperatives of an artificial, man-made, perhaps transcendentally beautiful civilization. Emphasis on the male work-rhythm is an emphasis on infinite possibilities; emphasis on the female rhythms is an emphasis on a defined pattern, on limitation.

— Margaret Mead Male and Female (1949)

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More quotes by Margaret Mead

I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.

Margaret Mead: Some Personal Views (1979)

I have spent most of my life studying the lives of other peoples — faraway peoples — so that Americans might better understand themselves.

Justin Wintle (2002)

It is not until science has become a discipline to which the research ability of any mind from any class in society can be attracted that it can become rigorously scientific.

Growing Up in New Guinea (1930)

Thanks to television, for the first time the young are seeing history made before it is censored by their elders.

Banned Books Week '93: Celebrating the Freedom to Read (1993)

Women want mediocre men, and men are working hard to be as mediocre as possible.

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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Margaret Mead (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.