"If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long?"

Gloria Steinem's quote is a smart critique of how social perceptions of gender and feeling are often skewed by biased presumptions. By questioning the stereotypes that represent women as less reasonable and more emotional due to hormone fluctuations, Steinem challenges the idea that these characteristics are naturally negative or female-specific.

The quote starts by referencing a typical belief: ladies are seen as more emotional and less logical when their levels of estrogen, a main female hormone, reduce at the start of menstruation. This stereotype is frequently utilized to dismiss females's emotions and habits, labeling them as undependable to conform to a patriarchal narrative that prioritizes rationality, typically connected with masculinity.

Steinem flips this stereotype on its head by suggesting that if ladies, in these couple of days with lower estrogen levels, are apparently more emotional or irrational, then, in theory, they are acting in a way that is parallel to guys, who have a constant hormonal state without such cycles. This rhetorical twist exposes the rational disparity in the stereotype: if women's lower hormonal agent levels lead them to act like men, then labeling those habits as illogical undermines the assumption that males are inherently more reasonable.

In essence, Steinem's statement underscores the problematic logic in associating emotional volatility strictly with femininity. It likewise calls attention to how society often undervalues emotional expression, seeing it as a weakness rather than a typical part of the human experience throughout all genders. Her critique prompts a much deeper assessment of how gender norms form understandings of rationality and feeling, and supporters for questioning and reshaping these narratives to promote equality and understanding. By doing so, Steinem welcomes a wider discussion about the overlapping nature of human feelings and the fallacy of stiff gender roles.