If it would destroy [a 12-year-old boy] to be called a girl, what are we then teaching him about girls?

Source: "A Call to Men." TEDWomen 2010. Dec. 2010. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote from educator and activist Tony Porter means that if "girl" is the worst insult we can call a young boy, it must mean that we, as parents and as a society, are teaching boys that girls/females are second-class citizens -- that they are not as worthy or valuable as males. The quote is from Porter's 2010 TED Talk about how men need to "break out of the man box" and change their mentality about how they must act to be considered "men." Watch the full TED Talk here: Tony Porter - A Call to Men  

“A Call to Men.” TEDWomen 2010. Dec. 2010. Conference Presentation.