--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was at the age when she looked as…" description: "\"“She was at the age when she looked as much like an overgrown boy as a girl. And on that subject why was it that the smartest people mostly missed that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/carson-mccullers-1694_old-age_she-was-at-the-age-when-she-looked-as-mu_1087460.jpg" --- # She was at the age when she looked as much like an… ![“She was at the age when she looked as much like an overgrown boy as a girl. And on that subject why was it that the smartest people mostly missed that point? By nature all people are of both sexes. So that marriage and the bed is not all by any means. The proof? Real youth and old age. Because…” quote by Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/carson-mccullers-1694_old-age_she-was-at-the-age-when-she-looked-as-mu_1087460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/carson-mccullers-1694_old-age_she-was-at-the-age-when-she-looked-as-mu_1087460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/carson-mccullers-1694_old-age_she-was-at-the-age-when-she-looked-as-mu_1087460.jpg) > ““She was at the age when she looked as much like an overgrown boy as a girl. And on that subject why was it that the smartest people mostly missed that point? By nature all people are of both sexes. So that marriage and the bed is not all by any means. The proof? Real youth and old age. Because often old men's voices grow high and reedy and the take on a mincing walk. And old women sometimes grow fat and their voices get rough and deep and the grow dark little mustaches.”” [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gender fluidity blurs traditional roles, showing that identity and attraction transcend binary expectations. **In simple terms:** Gender is fluid beyond binaries. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect diverse identities. Themes identity gender society sexuality norms Mood thoughtful introspective empathetic Type literary philosophical social When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - literary analysis - gender studies Key Concepts gender theory psychology social constructs Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural expectations shape personal identity? - In what ways can we challenge binary gender norms? A Different Perspective Societal norms often resist fluid identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Youth and old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth-and-old-age/) ## Related quotes > [How can you talk about power to the people unless you realise the people is both sexes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/how-can-you-talk-about-power-to-the-people-unless-you-realise-the/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [After you've been hurt a lot it's easy to think that all men/women are the same but they aren't. There are still nice people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/after-you-ve-been-hurt-a-lot-it-s-easy-to-think-that-all-men-women/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [When I was thirteen, I had a nervous breakdown, and I was put into this grown-up mental hospital with all these 50-, 60-year-old men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-roy/when-i-was-thirteen-i-had-a-nervous-breakdown-and-i-was-put-into-this/) [Duncan Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-roy/) > [“I've been with Mr. Locke for several hundred years now." He tossed her a wink. "I should hope in that time he would share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-turner/i-ve-been-with-mr-locke-for-several-hundred-years-now-he-tossed-her-a/) [Jennifer Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-turner/) > [war made by age and fought by youth while age looked on and applauded and encored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evadne-price/war-made-by-age-and-fought-by-youth-while-age-looked-on-and-applauded/) Evadne Price > [“Age looked at youth, and youth's applause first weakened, then died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/age-looked-at-youth-and-youth-s-applause-first-weakened-then-died/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The only thing that prevented a father's love from faltering was the fact that there was in his possession a photograph of himself at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/the-only-thing-that-prevented-a-father-s-love-from-faltering-was-the/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [I'm tired of people questioning me because of my age. If you looked at my numbers and watched me throw and covered my birthdate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-johnson/i-m-tired-of-people-questioning-me-because-of-my-age-if-you-looked-at/) [Randy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-johnson/) > [“I wondered who in this room I would go to if I had problems. Anyone my own age looked silly, immature, unfocused. The older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanne-rstavik/i-wondered-who-in-this-room-i-would-go-to-if-i-had-problems-anyone-my/) [Hanne Ørstavik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanne-rstavik/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-as-young-as-your-faith-as-old-as-your-doubt-as-young-as-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Just as the migratory and nest-building instincts of birds were never learnt or acquired individually, man brings with him at birth the ground-plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-stein/just-as-the-migratory-and-nest-building-instincts-of-birds-were-never/) Murray Stein > [It's an epitome of life. The first half of it consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-an-epitome-of-life-the-first-half-of-it-consists-of-the-capacity/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [What makes old age so sad is, not that our joys, but that our hopes then cease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-makes-old-age-so-sad-is-not-that-our-joys-but-that-our-hopes/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) ## More by Carson McCullers > [“Because things accumulate around your name," said Berenice. "You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/because-things-accumulate-around-your-name-said-berenice-you-have-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-cheated-only-nobody-had-cheated-her-so-there-was/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Love is a joint experience between two persons—but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/love-is-a-joint-experience-between-two-persons-but-the-fact-that-it/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-thinking-mind-is-best-controlled-by-the-imagination/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had left for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term-in-prison-or-had-been-to/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Comparing the Brooklyn that I know with Manhattan is like comparing a comfortable and complacent duenna to her more brilliant and neurotic sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/comparing-the-brooklyn-that-i-know-with-manhattan-is-like-comparing-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Son, do you know how love should be begun?" The boy sat small and listening and still. Slowly he shook his head. The old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/son-do-you-know-how-love-should-be-begun-the-boy-sat-small-and/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The dimensions of a work of art are seldom realized by the author until the work is accomplished. It is like a flowering dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-dimensions-of-a-work-of-art-are-seldom-realized-by-the-author/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/there-s-nothing-that-makes-you-so-aware-of-the-improvisation-of-human/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/maybe-when-people-longed-for-a-thing-that-bad-the-longing-made-them/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“But the music did not come again. The tune was left broken, unfinished. And the drawn tightness she could no longer stand. She felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/but-the-music-did-not-come-again-the-tune-was-left-broken-unfinished/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“...we must remember that we all make the things of this earth of value because of labor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/we-must-remember-that-we-all-make-the-things-of-this-earth-of-value/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) [Explore all 211 Carson McCullers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## More Old age quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“So Mack got kind of a late start in the startup world—he founded TakeOff at the ripe old age of twenty-five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doree-shafrir/so-mack-got-kind-of-a-late-start-in-the-startup-world-he-founded/) [Doree Shafrir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doree-shafrir/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/cast-me-not-off-in-the-time-of-old-age-forsake-me-not-when-my/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-old-age-our-bodies-are-worn-out-instruments-on-which-the-soul/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“I’m determined to be a big spender in my old age. I want to empty my savings account before I no longer know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-groen/i-m-determined-to-be-a-big-spender-in-my-old-age-i-want-to-empty-my/) [Hendrik Groen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-groen/) > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease, and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-kanakaredes/people-do-not-realize-that-alzheimer-s-is-not-old-age-it-is-a/) [Melina Kanakaredes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-kanakaredes/) > [“ Wisdom comes through suffering or old age. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-pearse/wisdom-comes-through-suffering-or-old-age/) [Lesley Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-pearse/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [“What creature goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noonday, on three in the evening? Man. In childhood he creeps on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oedipus/what-creature-goes-on-four-feet-in-the-morning-on-two-at-noonday-on/) Oedipus > [Old age is not a total misery. Experience helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/old-age-is-not-a-total-misery-experience-helps/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) [Browse all 2,109 Old age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was at the age when she looked as much like an overgrown boy as a girl. And on that subject why was it that the smartest people mostly missed that point? 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