Two metal rulers of different lengths beside a brass thimble on a pale green surface.

Original artwork, not a still

Ally

We're women. We have a double standard to live up to.

— Ally McBeal  ·  1997

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker twists the familiar phrase about living up to a standard by making that standard a double one. The joke links womanhood with inconsistent expectations, treating a contradiction as an obligation. Its wry wording can suggest both the unfairness of those rules and complicity in maintaining them.

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