--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think men get nervous when women start…" description: "\"“I think men get nervous when women start counting the number of female senators, and whites become edgy when they hear the next Supreme Court seat wil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg" --- # I think men get nervous when women start counting the… ![“I think men get nervous when women start counting the number of female senators, and whites become edgy when they hear the next Supreme Court seat will probably go to a Latino. This isn't always because they object to sharing the spoils, by the way; it just reminds us that the melting pot may not…” quote by Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg) > ““I think men get nervous when women start counting the number of female senators, and whites become edgy when they hear the next Supreme Court seat will probably go to a Latino. This isn't always because they object to sharing the spoils, by the way; it just reminds us that the melting pot may not be working, and we haven't yet achieved the ambiguous national dream of becoming a nation of indistinguishable beige atheists.”” [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes anxiety over demographic shifts in politics, suggesting the ideal of a uniform national identity is unrealistic. **In simple terms:** Political anxiety about diversity and unity. Key Takeaway Acknowledge diversity, avoid false uniformity. Themes politics diversity anxiety identity idealism Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type political analytical critical When to use this quote - elections - policy debates - media commentary - public discourse Key Concepts social cohesion representation political fear Questions to Reflect On - What does a “beige” nation mean? - How can true inclusion be pursued? A Different Perspective Idealizing a single identity ignores real differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguous/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Beige Atheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beige-atheists-4936232/) [Counting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Edgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edgy/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/havens/) [Latino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latino/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Melting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melting/) [Melting pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melting-pot/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Nervous Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-women-3466108/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Observational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observational/) [Pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pot/) [Probably Latino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-latino-4936231/) [Seats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seats/) [Senators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senators/) [Senators Whites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senators-whites-4936233/) [Spoil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoil/) [Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme/) [Supreme court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme-court/) [Think Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-men/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“Men get so nervous when women make non-distinct vocal sounds,” Susan said. “That’s only because the first caveman discovered that a grunt from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-get-so-nervous-when-women-make-non-distinct-vocal-sounds-susan/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a biological power that is intrinsic to the woman, to the female condition. Because you are able to give life. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gioconda-belli/there-is-a-biological-power-that-is-intrinsic-to-the-woman-to-the/) [Gioconda Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gioconda-belli/) > [Broadly speaking, nervous women may be divided into two classes - those who are really nervous, and those who imagine themselves to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/broadly-speaking-nervous-women-may-be-divided-into-two-classes-those/) [Margaret Elizabeth Sangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/) > [I observe everything around me and when something hits me and it's funny, that's what I talk about. I'm a more observational kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/i-observe-everything-around-me-and-when-something-hits-me-and-it-s/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [“On s’habitue aux défauts des autres quand on ne croit pas de son devoir de les corriger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/on-s-habitue-aux-d-fauts-des-autres-quand-on-ne-croit-pas-de-son/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [I never wanted to do observational humor because I never wanted to tell people what they were seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewis/i-never-wanted-to-do-observational-humor-because-i-never-wanted-to/) [Richard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewis/) > [“People underestimate the power of models. Observational evidence is not very useful, adding,…our approach is not entirely empirical. —John Mitchell, principal research scientist at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-carlin/people-underestimate-the-power-of-models-observational-evidence-is/) [Alan Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-carlin/) > [“Norway...looked to Roosevelt "as funny a kingdom as was ever imagined outside of opera bouffe…It is much as if Vermont should offhand try the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morris/norway-looked-to-roosevelt-as-funny-a-kingdom-as-was-ever-imagined/) [Edmund Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morris/) > [“Middle-class prosperity is lapidary; the flow of cash rounds and smooths a person like water does riverbed stones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/middle-class-prosperity-is-lapidary-the-flow-of-cash-rounds-and/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“By noon, in a gray February world, we had come down through snow flurries to land at Albany, and had taken off again. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/by-noon-in-a-gray-february-world-we-had-come-down-through-snow/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Time is but an extension of the Human desire for organization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-foland-jr/time-is-but-an-extension-of-the-human-desire-for-organization/) [Richard L. Foland Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-foland-jr/) > [“the smartest man in the room doesn't visit many rooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mccoy/the-smartest-man-in-the-room-doesn-t-visit-many-rooms/) [Garrett McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mccoy/) > [I'm such a product of my media diet... it's interesting that you say what I do is observational. It's observational as far as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sikoryak/i-m-such-a-product-of-my-media-diet-it-s-interesting-that-you-say/) [Robert Sikoryak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sikoryak/) > [“Shall we see the world as we sit, look around relax, look, look, look, disengage our intellects, perceive nature our common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-askew/shall-we-see-the-world-as-we-sit-look-around-relax-look-look-look/) [R.J.Askew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-askew/) > [“Beauty shoudn't suffer but should be embraced.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-taviri/beauty-shoudn-t-suffer-but-should-be-embraced/) [Jackson Taviri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-taviri/) ## More by Dahlia Lithwick > [Never believe in any faith younger than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/never-believe-in-any-faith-younger-than-you-are/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I think particularly on the left, progressives wanted more bombast and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-particularly-on-the-left-progressives-wanted-more-bombast-and/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Thurgood Marshall was uniquely able to understand and comprehend what it meant to grow up in the Jim Crow south.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/thurgood-marshall-was-uniquely-able-to-understand-and-comprehend-what/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more authority to the states--which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/taking-legislative-authority-away-from-the-federal-government-doesn-t/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [There can be no difference between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples anywhere in the USA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/there-can-be-no-difference-between-same-sex-couples-and-opposite-sex/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Over the past few years, the Supreme Court was six times more likely to accept cases from an elite group of 66 lawyers than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/over-the-past-few-years-the-supreme-court-was-six-times-more-likely/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I've been thinking so much about how grateful I am to cover the court because the constraints of calm and civility are really palpable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-ve-been-thinking-so-much-about-how-grateful-i-am-to-cover-the-court/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ I'm hardly the first person to say that you've \[Jeffrey Rosen\] written a book about a person who has more to say about the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-m-hardly-the-first-person-to-say-that-you-ve-jeffrey-rosen-written/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [We don't care what the framers would have thought of violent video games. Times are changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/we-don-t-care-what-the-framers-would-have-thought-of-violent-video/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ A lot of conservative writers have twisted that argument in the conversation around Judge \[Gonzalo\] Curiel and said this is identity politics as played… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/a-lot-of-conservative-writers-have-twisted-that-argument-in-the/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Even Merrick Garland can't get up and give a press conference in which he says, "Give me a damn vote." We just hear silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/even-merrick-garland-can-t-get-up-and-give-a-press-conference-in/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [For the most part, much of the legal world's attention has been focused on Donald Trump and his attacks on Gonzalo Curiel, the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/for-the-most-part-much-of-the-legal-world-s-attention-has-been/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I just don't think we think about jurists as rock stars or great thinkers, particularly in the political world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-just-don-t-think-we-think-about-jurists-as-rock-stars-or-great/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [The Framers were no more interested in binding future Americans to a set of divinely inspired commandments than any of us would wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-framers-were-no-more-interested-in-binding-future-americans-to-a/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [One of the things that drives me batty is people who think they're court watchers, who say, "Oh, Clarence Thomas. You know, his clerks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/one-of-the-things-that-drives-me-batty-is-people-who-think-they-re/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) [Explore all 37 Dahlia Lithwick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) ## More Ambiguous quotes > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-can-be-bought-with-a-bottle-of-wine-and-has-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somehow, in the novel format, I don't really like to do upfront, ideological discussion. In my heart, literature remains a poetic and ambiguous medium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaolu-guo/somehow-in-the-novel-format-i-don-t-really-like-to-do-upfront/) [Xiaolu Guo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaolu-guo/) > [Redundancy is ambiguous because it seems like a waste if nothing unusual happens. Except that something unusual happens-usually .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/redundancy-is-ambiguous-because-it-seems-like-a-waste-if-nothing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“In general we are reminded that the word heimlich is not unambiguous, but belongs to two sets of ideas, which, without being contradictory, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/in-general-we-are-reminded-that-the-word-heimlich-is-not-unambiguous/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I want each poem to be ambiguous enough that its meaning can shift, depending on the reader's own frame of reference, and depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-each-poem-to-be-ambiguous-enough-that-its-meaning-can-shift/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/photography-appears-to-be-an-easy-activity-in-fact-it-is-a-varied-and/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. 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This isn't always because they object to sharing the spoils, by the way; it just reminds us that the melting pot may not be working, and we haven't yet achieved the ambiguous national dream of becoming a nation of indistinguishable beige atheists.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dahlia Lithwick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start-counting-the-number-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start-counting-the-number-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_ambiguous_i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start_1405108.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think men get nervous when women start counting the number of female senators, and whites become edgy when…” — Dahlia Lithwick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dahlia Lithwick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I think men get nervous when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start-counting-the-number-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start-counting-the-number-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```