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The binary thinking of an individual is important in shaping their identity. Individuals are bound to think in two directions when they are facing opposing scenarios. Bell shows this when she quotes, "These contradictory directives leave young women in a bind, and without much help in figuring out what they actually want. Every piece of 'modern' advice about maintaining independence and using their twenties to explore and experiment sexually is layered over a piece of 'old-fashioned' advice about getting married before it's 'too late,' not being too assertive or passionate in sex, and not being too sexually experienced" (27). This quote brings out two opposing factors through the use of "contradictory directives". The use of such words expresses Bell's idea of binary thinking where the young women are being misled. They are not being shown the right path but are being fed with some contradictory ideas that are misguiding them from what they actually want. Bell also emphasizes on words such as "modern" and "old-fashioned" to express the difference in opinions of the people from a different time and generations. The women are forced into choosing a side. The modern generation is guided to follow this regime that has been depicted in this image. Nelson questions, "Do we really live under the aegis of these opposing threats, or is it the very reiteration of them as our two primary ontological options (and our unthinking acquiescence to such a formulation) that acts as a truer threat to our enlivenment, to our full experience of the vast space between these two poles- a space which, after all, is where the great majority of many of our lives takes place?" (306). .
Nelson's use of words such as "reiteration" showcases the nature of humans to repeat something till it is understood or till it possesses a deep meaning.
