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Women become the objects of rules; they are repressed and lose their rights in the name of religion, or they lose their freedom in the name of tradition, while the state legitimates this foolishness with laws.

I know that at literary festivals I'm speaking mostly to middle-class women, who frequently vote in a way that is contrary to how I'd like them to vote.

Rules like 'don't wear white after Labor Day' or 'shoes matching the handbag' are antiquated. Modern women should feel free to experiment.

Women have the feeling that since they didn't make the rules, the rules have nothing to do with them.

Women's value has been under-recognized for far too long.

There are not many female role models to guide voters, and the tradition that a Southern woman's place is in the home still lingers in some quarters.

Women are still second-class citizens.

The fact that a New Hampshire legislator's position is not seen as a career or a way of supporting a family has meant that it draws women. At times, I think men who might be looking for a paid career have known that they couldn't make one out of serving in the legislature. So there's a little more space for women.

We are still living with a double standard. I know it. Every woman I know knows it, whether you're in the media as a woman, or you're in the professions or business or politics.

We reasoned that the men would find it difficult to vote against the women in their home states when a woman was sitting with them making laws.