“It'll be taught in homes that it's not okay to make fun of a kid because he's gay or it's not okay to make fun of a girl cause she's fat. But that we have been living for so long in a culture where so many people's parents supported those beliefs that there wasn't any infrastructure for children understanding right and wrong in those situations, if that makes sense.” PeopleIfsChildrenLongHas BeensHomeKidsCultureGirlBeliefFunCausesParentUnderstandingSituationTaughtGayOkayFatsMake SenseInfrastructureNot Okay Author:Lena Dunham
“Like Summer Sisters comforted me just because I was like, okay things I've seen with my own eyes are not so terrible, and even though I knew adult gay people and had absolutely no issue with it. And I just couldn't articulate what made me so uncomfortable about the space that I shared with my friends becoming a sexual space. And it was very healing for me to read that, and feel like it was a part of other friendships, even fictional friendships I admire.” PeopleFeelsMadeEyeMy OwnSpaceHealingIssuesBecomingTerribleGaySummerMy FriendsAdultsOkayAdmireUncomfortableGay People Author:Lena Dunham
“I spend most of my time speaking to people who totally disagree with me. I speak to gays, I speak to atheists, I speak to secularists, I speak to Muslims because I am trying to build a bridge between my heart and theirs so Jesus can walk across and they can come to know Christ.” PeopleKnowsTryingHeartJesusSpeakChristWalksMy HeartGayAtheistBridgesMy TimeDisagree Author:Rick Warren
“There are a lot of people that form movements around particular commitments, like gay rights. It is important, but it does not link easily to, say, economic rights, and it often looks like it's opposed to them. The attempt to bring these together has yet to be done in a truly effective way, and I think it can be.” PeopleThinkingWayLooksDoeImportantDoneTogetherFormRightsEconomicMovementParticularGayCommitmentLinksGay Rights Author:Noam Chomsky
“People are killed because they're gay. I don't think, "What do I want to do today? I want to speak up on gay rights." No. It's God catching me by my neck. I wish I could keep quiet about the plight of the Palestinians. I can't!” PeopleThinkingWantI CanTodaySpeakWishRightsGayQuietNecksPalestinianCatchingGay RightsPlight Author:Desmond Tutu
“For a long time, people assumed I was gay, so when I got married the press were all a bit shocked and made a big deal of it - and ditto when I had children. I felt very much under the microscope with paps outside the house taking pictures of me getting the baby out of the car, it was excruciating. I remember getting her out of the car seat and thinking 'oh God I'm going to drop her and they're going to take a picture'. I was so nervous. Those sorts of things are really hard.” PeopleThinkingChildrenLongMadeHardBigsRememberHouseFeltBitsDealsCarBabyGayMarriedLong TimePressesNervousSeatsShockedBig DealMicroscopesTaking Pictures Author:Jo Brand
“It's just in Washington we're talking about equal rights for gay people, civil liberty to smoke marijuana, taking care of the environment, and it's all just decency and common sense and patriotism. And in other parts of the country that would be, like, inconceivable.” PeopleCountryWould BeCareCommonTalkingLibertyEnvironmentRightsGayEqualCommon SenseSmokeMarijuanaDecencyEqual RightsCivil LibertiesGay People Author:Rick Steves
“I think people need to live their lives the way they want to, but I'm pretty confident in the fact that I love girls. I've got a long line of girls who could testify that I am not gay.” PeopleThinkingWayWantNeedsLongFactsGirlLinesGayLong Lines Author:Kenny Chesney
“I'm delighted that gay people now want to get married and I say why not! It's nobody's business and I would happily give my blessing.” PeopleWantGivingGayBlessingMarriedWhy NotDelightedGay PeopleMy Blessing Author:Iris Apfel
“Maybe when the President tells you that you should be afraid of Mexicans or Muslims or Jews or black people or gay people or trans people, you'll realize that those are just labels, that underneath it all we're all the same people, we all have the same aspirations, the same hopes, the same desires, that we all share the same values.” PeopleShouldDesireValuesBlackPresidentRealizingShareGayJewLabelsAspirationBlack PeopleTransGay People Author:Reza Aslan
“I remember an experience once of a young man in our home who was gay. We just assumed it, based on his outward appearance. Gay people had a hard time in those days, in fifties since the police would create situations to lock them up.” PeopleMenHardHomeRememberYoungSituationGayPoliceAppearanceYoung ManHard TimesLocksGay PeopleOutward Appearance Author:David C. Driskell
“I oftentimes receive the question, "What do you think is the most important social issue to focus on?" Or, "What's the most important component of identity? Is it gay rights or race or feminism?" And I'm like, "Well, they're all intertwined. It's all one conversation at the end of the day. You can't just pick one." I mean, people experience all kinds of prejudice because of all different parts of themselves. And that doesn't make one part more important than the other.” PeopleThinkingKindMeanImportantDifferentFocusFeminismIdentityGayPrejudiceAll KindsSocial IssuesGay RightsMean People Author:Amandla Stenberg
“All leftists are constantly scared because they know that the victories they have are really not solid, their victories are the result of authoritarianism and bulliness. They're not the result of a majority of people agreeing with them. They know that a majority of this country is not for gay marriage. They know they've succeeded in bullying the country into it.” PeopleCountryVictoryGayScaredBullyingGay Marriage Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I have a lot of friends who are in mixed race relationships who are gay. But I think that the reason it bothers people is because there is not enough representation, even in the straight world, of people loving people who look like them.” PeopleThinkingWorldReasonEnoughGayBotherRepresentation Author:Anika Noni Rose
“It's very easy, when things like the gay marriage write-in happen, to get sick of how people view language and say, "ah, come on it's just a dictionary." But then you hear from people who say if you take out "retarded" it won't exist anymore, and there will be no slurs for people to call my child. And that's just heartrending.” PeopleChildrenLanguageEasyGaySickMy ChildrenGay MarriageDictionaryRetarded Author:Kory Stamper
“It's difficult to sit down and write a letter back saying, "you know what, even if we remove the word from the dictionary, people will still continue to use it." That's the tightrope that we walk - "gay marriage" is another example, or the word "nude."” PeopleWritingDifficultGayGay MarriageDictionary Author:Kory Stamper
“Under the right conditions, gay people can become politicians and be in control of their lives in a much broader way through activism.” PeoplePoliticianGayActivismGay People Author:Daayiee Abdullah
“I think gay people deserve all the same rights as everybody else, it's just that marriage is specifically for a man and a woman.” PeopleThinkingMenGayDeserveGay People Author:Michael Showalter
“Coming into this, making music, I knew that was something that was going to be held over my head. Okay we get it, you're openly gay, but do you know how to rap? Can you really rap and deliver? And I feel like I have that pressure put on me that other artists don't. A lot of people don't have to focus on being so lyrical and actually putting on shows. Before anyone was gonna tell me I was bad, I was gonna prove that I was good.” PeopleArtistFocusGayProveOkayRapLyrical Author:Cakes da killa
“So for me to actually have access to women, to feminist women, to gay people, to trans people, to intellectuals, iconoclasts, weirdos, academics, just the people who don't normally get marketed to, in some way I kinda hoped that if I could collect all of them, I could say, "Hey! Look over here! There are enough people who like my stuff." And it sorta has seemed to be true.” PeopleEnoughGayFeministBeing TrueGay PeopleWeirdo Author:Jill Soloway
“For as long as the power of America's diversity is diminished by acts of discrimination and violence against people just because they are black, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, Muslim or gay, we still must overcome.” PeopleLongStillsAmericaBlackViolenceGayDiversityOvercomingDiscriminationAsianHispanic Author:Ron Kind
“We had so many milestones in America. We were on our way to universal healthcare. We had gay marriage. We were talking about gender fluidity and trans issues openly and discussing them with respect. It was almost to the point where educating people about transgender rights wasn't an issue. We were including trans people as a normal part of our conversations instead of seeing their presence as this shocking thing to the system. We forgot that those things can be taken away from you because there are people in the world that, for whatever f - king reason, can't live and let live.” PeopleWorldReasonTakenGayGenderHealthcareGay MarriageTransgenderMilestoneLive And Let Live Author:Beth Ditto
“People are very afraid. In my country, you had a corrupt party who sabotaged an amazing candidate Bernie Sanders who was stronger than the other. Had Sanders faced Trump even more young people - from black millennials to the gay and lesbian community - would have voted because he represented them at his core. Fear drove the American vote, because if you're choosing from two devils like Hillary and Trump then you're more likely to end up picking the one who is cooler and makes you laugh.” PeopleCountryBlackCommunityPartyLaughingGayDevilVoteStronger Author:El-P
“It's unfortunate we live in a society where "gay" is an insult. To some of these boys, who are from really red states and have families with military history, to be called gay is the worst thing imaginable, and that's used against them. It's really interesting that these are the people drawn into the tickling world. If the people drawn into competitive endurance tickling, even if they were straight, came from liberal, accepting backgrounds, the backlash of calling them gay wouldn't be a problem. But it's a problem because of where these people are from. That's really fascinating to me.” PeopleWorldProblemInterestingAcceptingBoysWorstMilitaryGayInsultEnduranceUnfortunateReally Interesting Author:David Farrier
“Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.” PeopleKnowsWantInspirationalMayGayGuaranteesTransgenderBisexualBisexuality Author:Billie Jean King
“And of course, Indonesian people are above all scared of being 'different'. Being different here is punished brutally. Different people get mocked, ostracized, raped, tortured, and murdered. They are banned. To be a Communist is banned. To be gay is banned. To be an atheist is banned. To be a Taoist is banned. Being one of a thousand things is banned.” PeopleDifferentGayAtheistScaredCommunistBeing Different Author:Andre Vltchek
“I love '80s happy music. I love Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, and the idea of making music that's about people celebrating fun. I spent my late adolescence in New York and I used to go to a lot of gay clubs. The music there was always just about love and connection and celebrating life. I think, for people going through something really hard, to go to a place where you can let loose and listen to music as a distraction, that's about a better place, a better way of life - that's where all the attraction lies.” PeopleThinkingLyingFunGayAttractionCelebrateDistractionAdolescenceListening To Music Author:Halsey
“Obviously I think it's really important to look back at your history, and that's why I think things like Pride are important. It's not necessarily about your experience of life, it's not about whether you find it difficult to be gay; it's about the fact that people have fought over hundreds of years for this to be okay, and also that there are many countries in the world where it's still not, and it's very dangerous to be gay.” PeopleThinkingWorldImportantCountryDifficultDangerousPrideGayOkay Author:Shura
“Most men I know adore women, and I am including gay men. I think studies on jury selection show that the biggest critics of women - people less likely to trust their character or judgment - are women.” PeopleThinkingMenCharacterStudyGayJudgmentCriticsAdoreJuryGay Men Author:Gene Weingarten
“Repression is good for cultural achievement. Let's face it. What are gay boys going to be like? I always like to say the 19th-century gay boy was Oscar Wilde, the 20th-century gay boy was Stonewall and ACT UP. And in the 21st century, we have blocking people on Grindr. That's what we've accomplished. Without some kind of traction.” PeopleKindBoysGayAchievementBlockAccomplished21st Century Author:Daniel Mendelsohn
“In the pre-Internet age you had to find gay things - or things that were slightly radioactive with erotic interest. You had to go to the library, you had to find the books; you had to find the coded things. When everything's available and everything's okay, what does it become? It becomes shopping. We're shopping all the time, basically, whether for objects, or people. On Manhunt or Grindr, or whatever. It's click to buy.” PeopleBookAgeInterestGayOkayLibrary Author:Daniel Mendelsohn
“Shopping as lifestyle is really a sub-cultural problem. When the strictures that set you apart or oppressed you, disappear, is there a way, legitimately, to maintain your sense of specialness and difference? And how do you express that? Does it just become a kind of kitsch? You can say this of gay people, but it's true for Jewish people, Italian Americans, everyone who deals with it. It's a question of assimilation. How can you be assimilated and special at the same time?” PeopleKindProblemSpecialGayDisappearLifestyleItalianOppressedGay PeopleAssimilationItalian American Author:Daniel Mendelsohn
“Gay people, certainly gay people of my generation, at least of a certain echelon - middle-class Americans - have binocular vision. We all are raised by straight people and grow up with straight people and in straight families, but we all have this totally other way of looking at things. Increasingly as I get deeper into middle age, that is why I resist plunking for any one camp. Because I have this delicious sort of experience of being able to see things in two ways.” PeopleAgeVisionGrowing UpGayMiddle AgesGay People Author:Daniel Mendelsohn
“My daughter loved All About Steve movie, because she's 6 feet tall and she's different. And I got a lot of great e-mails from people who are different. I'm a gay icon. I'll just say it. That's what they say to me, so I'll accept it. I got so many e-mails saying that it meant so much to those people. My daughter said, "They didn't like it just because she didn't get the guy! If they had lived happily ever after, people would have liked that movie."” PeopleDifferentGuyAcceptingGayDaughterMy DaughterHappily Ever AfterEver After Author:Beth Grant
“I remember Reagan`s election, I was pretty devastated. But you didn`t have the fear like this that so many people of color and so many disabled people and gay people and people who aren`t Christians have. And this is just making things worse. And Trump needs to try to heal. And you don`t do things like Trump does this to heal.” PeopleTryingChristianRememberGayElectionHealGay PeopleDevastated Author:Sherrod Brown
“Gay people are nice people. Just like any other people. And gay people love reggae music. Yeah. And gay people love Jamaica.” PeopleNiceGayGay PeopleReggaeNice People Author:Yellowman
“When the AIDS epidemic first started there were people who said, "Well, if there weren't gays, then we wouldn't have this problem. It's got to be because of them - let it be them instead of us." But when you educate yourself about it, you can't help but realize that we're all affected by it. I think that things like that just become too daunting for people.” PeopleThinkingHelpingProblemRealizingGayAidsEducate Author:Josh Brolin
“Whenever you create something that has a gay theme, it's inherently political. It's important that the intentions of the people behind the project be known. In discussing my sexual orientation, I found it to be germane to the topic of the film. It's what made The Green relatable and personal to me, but I've been out since I was 19. I've never been in the closet, so to say.” PeopleImportantFilmPoliticalGayIntentionRelatable Author:Paul Marcarelli
“I share with a lot of people who have seen The Green film at gay film festivals when you are the only gay guy on the block, you feel this responsibility to be this ambassador. You spend a lot of time making sure that other people feel comfortable with you. The perception that we project on that community, that gets in the way of a clear line of communication.” PeopleFilmGuyCommunityResponsibilityShareCommunicationGayPerceptionBlock Author:Paul Marcarelli
“I don't really like saying "the gays"... I'm not sure why. I suppose I say "the Jews." but I don't say "the blacks." I guess because I'm a Jew for all intents and purposes and to group people together of which I am not one in such a casual way feels disrespectful.” PeopleTogetherPurposeGayJewNot SureDisrespectful Author:Sarah Silverman
“When it comes to partisan politics, everyone is a hypocrite. And all they care about is whether it hurts or helps them ... Is it good or bad for the Democrats? Is it good or bad for the Republicans? Is it good or bad for Jews, or good or bad for blacks, or is it good or bad for women? Is it good or bad for men? Is it good or bad for gays? That's the way people think about issues today. There is very little discussion of enduring principles.” PeopleThinkingMenHelpingCareTodayHurtRepublicanGayDemocratEndureJewDiscussionIt HurtsHypocrite Author:Alan Dershowitz
“There is no difference between alternative and traditional club comedy. People think there's a difference, but I don't think so. It's like gay men versus straight men. There's no difference. They both like sucking penises. But truth be told, I don't even believe alternative comedy is a real thing anymore. I think at this point, it's just a buzz word to make things seem cool and different and hip.” PeopleThinkingMenBelieveDifferentRealComedyTruth IsGayGay MenTruth Be Told Author:Brent Weinbach
“I've always been surprised when a straight guy likes me. It's just been like my whole life has been kinda like that. I definitely felt like when I started writing music, it wasn't writing for a gay audience at all. I was just writing for me. But what I say whenever I get this question is my best friends have always been gay, I've always been, as a person, just accepted by the gay community, and celebrated and had the best nights of my life at gay clubs. Always had a fashion sense usually with drag and I don't know. That's just kind of my people. That's just kind of where I fit in.” PeopleWritingKindNightGuyCommunityAudienceFashionFitGayAcceptedWhole LifeMy Best Friend Author:Allie X
“I'm happy to say I haven't received that much negative feedback. I'm always thrilled when I get feedback from young people, particularly from The New Normal, young gay people - when they say they want that when they grow up, that means a lot to me. As a kid growing up, I didn't really have a lot of gay role models on television, so it's nice to be part of a movement that gives some more of those.” PeopleGivingMeanKidsGrowing UpNiceGayNegativeRole ModelsFeedbackGay People Author:Andrew Rannells
“The Democrats pretended to care about black people for about five minutes to help their electoral process, and then civil rights suddenly became abortion on demand, gay marriage, rights for the homeless, etc.” PeopleHelpingCareBlackGayDemocratCivil RightsAbortionBlack PeopleHomelessGay Marriage Author:Ann Coulter
“I was morose that the Era of Barack Obama has returned us to a period where everything is racist, everyone is walking on eggshells, and you get the moral preening from white liberals who don't actually even know any black people. But, oh, do they love to get on their high horses and accuse Republicans of being racist for opposing very liberal government policies and a very liberal Democratic president. It's an extension of the civil rights label being slapped on gay marriage and abortion. Allow me to be bi-partisan for a moment, and love this moment because it won't last long.” PeopleLongMomentsBlackPresidentMoralPolicyWalkingRepublicanGayHorseDemocraticCivil RightsBarackAbortionRacistBlack PeopleGay MarriageMorose Author:Ann Coulter
“If the president of the country is not actually saying something, allowing equality to happen, how could you expect to counsel kids not to bully other kids? If they're not seeing that their society sees gay people as equals, how could you tell them what they're doing is wrong? With all this stuff going on, with the "Don't ask, don't tell" and things like that, we are second-class citizens, definitely. It just seems to me that it's hypocritical for us as a culture to say, "Bullying is a terrible thing," when really, they are just reflecting what the society is doing.” PeopleCountryKidsCulturePresidentTerribleGayBullyingBullyGay PeopleHypocritical Author:Alan Cumming
“People still think of AIDS as a shame-based disease, it's a sexually transmitted disease, and you're either gay or you're a prostitute or an intravenous drug user. And so a lot of people are still very bigoted about this disease. It's such a treatable disease. It's so - the end is in sight for this disease, medically.” PeopleThinkingGayDrugAidsUsersSexually Author:Elton John
“Leonardo da Vinci was comfortable being illegitimate, gay, a misfit, a heretic. But he also respected other people. He didn't get into disputations. He was a genius but he had a certain humility. In his notebooks you see lists of people he wanted to grill about things like how the water diversions in Milan work; he was always interested in learning from other people.” PeopleWaterHumilityGeniusGayNotebookHereticMisfitsLeonardo Author:Walter Isaacson
“I think fundamentally, the real power behind the anti-choice movement in regard to abortion and the opposition to the rights of LGBT Americans is fundamentally religious. I know that there are people who are secularists who have problems with the rights of gay people and problems with reproductive choice, but frankly those people are few in number.” PeopleThinkingRealProblemChoicesReligiousGayAbortionLgbtGay People Author:Barry W. Lynn