How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
Well, we're already foreigners. Women as women are largely excluded from, alien to, the self-declared male norms of this society, where human beings are called Man, the only respectable god is male, the only direction is up. (40-41)
Language is a powerful tool, and when you use the word "man" to describe all of humanity, it's pretty exclusionary, isn't it? Have you ever thought of it in that way? Sometimes even things that seem innocuous (like using a gendered word for encapsulating a group) can, over time, become harmful with a pervasive message about acceptance.
Quote #2
If we want to live as women, some separatism is forced upon us: Mills College is a wise embodiment of that separatism. The war-games world wasn't made by us or for us; we can't even breathe the air there without masks. And if you put the mask on you'll have a hard time getting it off. (45-47)
Do you think Le Guin is exaggerating the differences between men and women, here? Can women succeed in a man's world without losing the traits that make them feminine?
Quote #3
So how about going on doing things our own way, as to some extent you did here at Mills? Not for men and the male power hierarchy—that's their game. Not against men, either—that's still playing by their rules. But with any men who are with us: that's our game. Why should a free woman with a college education either fight Machoman or serve him? Why should she live her life on his terms? (48-53)
Basically, Le Guin is saying that women need to develop their own set of rules by which to gauge the measures of success. That way, they'd be playing their own game, on their own terms. Do you think women have managed to do that—to any degree—since she gave this speech in '83?