“As my mother once said: The boys throw stones at the frogs in jest.
But the frogs die in earnest.”
Joanna Russ book The Female Man
Part 8, Chapter 10 (p. 196)
Source: Fiction, The Female Man (1975)

The Female Man is a feminist science fiction novel by American writer Joanna Russ. It was originally written in 1970 and first published in 1975 by Bantam Books. Russ was an avid feminist and challenged sexist views during the 1970s with her novels, short stories, and nonfiction works. These works include We Who Are About To..., "When It Changed", and What Are We Fighting For?: Sex, Race, Class, and the Future of Feminism.
“As my mother once said: The boys throw stones at the frogs in jest.
But the frogs die in earnest.”
Joanna Russ book The Female Man
Part 8, Chapter 10 (p. 196)
Source: Fiction, The Female Man (1975)
Joanna Russ book The Female Man
Part 9, Chapter 4 (p. 206)
Source: Fiction, The Female Man (1975)
Context: Remember: I didn’t and don’t want to be a “feminine” version or a diluted version or a special version or a subsidiary version or an ancillary version, or an adapted version of the heroes I admire. I want to be the heroes themselves.
What future is there for a female child who aspires to being Humphrey Bogart?