Gender Quotes in Middlesex

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

In the manner of women of her generation, [Desdemona] was practically an old woman. (2.5.31)

Desdemona doesn't ever really change with the times. Do you know people like this, who are still wearing the neon fanny packs of the 1980s? Is this a bad thing, or should they learn to adapt?

Quote #5

Right next to [Chapter Eleven], there's me, his sometime sister, my face already a conundrum, flashing like a lenticular decal between two images. (2.7.8)

This is a perfect image to describe how Cal/Calliope straddles the line between two genders. It's a heck of a lot more interesting than your average Lisa Frank sticker.

Quote #6

All was shrouded in a zone of privacy and fragility, where my mother never scrubbed me too hard. (3.1.42)

The Stephanides family's Puritanical aversion to sex and gender only complicates matters for their daughter... er, son... er... um... see what we mean? It's important to check these things out early.