“The Men hunted money and sex. The women were hunted and captured, even the white women.”

“The broken spine of the book shows the webbing of binder's string, and my fingers have worn white spots in the cover.”

“I have a million nightingales on the branches of my heart singing freedom.”

“When it comes to sexuality, romantic love plays a large part in feminine sexual scripts. Research suggests that women make sense of sexual encounters in terms of the amount of intimacy experienced; love becomes a rationale for sex. If i am in love, women often reason, sex is okay. Men more easily accept sex for its own sake, with no emotional strings necessarily attached. In this way, sexual scripts for men have involved more of an instrumental (sex for its own sake) approach, whereas for women it tends to be more expressive (sex involving emotional attachments). There is evidence to suggest that women are moving in the direction of sex as an end in itself without the normative constraints of an emotional relationship. By and large, however, women are still more likely than men to engage in sex as an act of love. Many scholars suggest that romance is one of the key ways that sexism is maintained in society.”

“That was until two nights later when we kissed, and it felt like gravity had let go, and you were a magnet holding me in place. I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything to scare you off, but you need to know that even though I didn’t want to wait three months to see you, I would have waited three years if I had to.”

“Why would men want to do without women? We adore women.”“Because they serve you,” she grumbled.“No.Because they complement us. And I mean complement with an e,not an i. Women are our other halves. Men need women.”

“Orchid hunting is a mortal occupation.”