Emphasis, or air-quote intonation

For words or phrases which have an intonation imparting a call-out emphasis, it is permissible to use either quotation marks or italics. Generally italics convey emphasis; quotation marks draw attention to possible ambiguity and focus upon the word itself.

  • I was conscious of being a woman rather than a man and that, I didn’t have the kind of “brain” that thought the way men thought. 
  • then he said, “Do you know something? All of what you said was just pure emotion and we guys need it.”

The italics or quotation marks might be used only with the first instance of the word, unless there are repeated instances with the same distinctive intonation.