“Outside of being an actress, I feel like being out is the biggest way that gay people can change perception. There are people that give millions of dollars to gay organizations but are closeted to their own families” PeopleWayGivingFeelsMillionsGayPerceptionOrganizationDollarsActressesGay PeoplePeople Can Change Author:Jill Bennett
“'Brokeback Mountain' is a sad love story about two people who can't be together, and the reason that they can't be together is because being gay is a stigmatized thing. It would be interesting to have the same movie in which the two guys weren't in the closet and there was no shame about them being gay and they couldn't be together for other reasons. I still feel like we're a long way from that happening.” PeopleWayFeelsLongStillsTwoReasonStoriesWould BeTogetherGuyInterestingGayMountainHappeningsShameLove StoryClosetsLong WayBeing GaySad LoveTwo GuysBrokeback Mountain Author:Wesley Morris
“This is America, where a white Catholic male Republican judge was murdered on his way to greet a Democratic Jewish woman member of Congress, who was his friend. Her life was saved initially by a 20-year old Mexican-American gay college student, and eventually by a Korean-American combat surgeon, all eulogized by our African American President.” WayYearsAmericaPresidentWhiteStudentsCollegeJudgingRepublicanGayMembersCatholicDemocraticMalesCongressSavedAfrican AmericanCombatMexicanSurgeonsKoreanAmerican PresidentCollege StudentsMexican American Author:Mark Shields
“It's important to stress what I didn't find. I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain.” PeopleMenWayImportantShowsCausesBornCommonMistakeBrainGayProveStressHomosexualityGay MenBeing GayInterpreting Author:Simon LeVay
“I had to fight to be me and get respect, and to carry that stigma, for me, is pride. Carrying the tag of lesbian. I'm not bragging, I'm not preaching, but I don't deny it . I had to face society, the Church, which says damn gay people ... it's absurd. How do you judge someone who has been born that way. I did not study to be a lesbian. Neither was it taught to me. I was born this way. Since I opened my eyes to the world. I've never slept with a man. Never. I'm pure, I don't have to be ashamed ... My Gods made me so.” PeopleMenWorldWayHas BeensMadeEyeFacesFightingBornChurchStudyTaughtJudgingPrideGayPureDenyAbsurdDamnAshamedPreachingStigmaGay PeopleBraggingTagBorn This Way Author:Chavela Vargas
“We've had a culture war roaring away, and the kinds of people who want to abuse and discriminate against gay people who are adults can't really lay their hands on us unless they want to be gay-bashers and go to jail. They abuse us from afar and in the abstract, they abuse us with checkbooks and ballots, but their kids go to school on Monday morning. And there's a gay kid. And they feel they have license to beat that gay kid up in a way that I don't think they did when I was in school. I think it's gotten worse.” PeopleThinkingWayWantFeelsKindWarHandsKidsSchoolCultureMorningGayBeatsAdultsAbuseLaysAbstractJailMondayLicenseBallotsGay PeopleAfarRoaringMonday MorningBashers Author:Dan Savage
“The right, like Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbauggh, use women and the black man and the Hispanic immigrant and the gay man as a scapgoat for society's ills. They pretend it's about traditional family values, but that's a bullshit phrase that means nothing to me. They like to use us all. They use pro-life as a way to hate women and slam women, dressed up in the nobility of saving unborn fetuses. I think it's just misogyny.” ThinkingMenWayMeanUseValuesHateBlackGayTraditionalSavingPhrasesImmigrantsBullshitMisogynyNobilityUnbornPro LifeSlamDressed UpGay MenHispanicFamily ValuesFetusTraditional Family Author:Janeane Garofalo
“The truth of the matter is being gay is the way I was born. I believe this to the core of my being.” WayBelieveMatterI BelieveBornGayCoreBeing Gay Author:Nate Berkus
“It's not easy to be a gay couple having a child, and we deal with those issues. For me, obviously as somebody who very much does have that dream, I don't feel that way. I would never feel that way. So, my answer would be no.” WayFeelsChildrenDoeDreamWould BeEasyAnswersDealsIssuesCoupleGayGay Couples Author:Ryan T. Murphy
“Clearly, gay marriage is on the top of the agenda right now. It's pretty amazing, considering where stuff was at when I was in high-school, when there were no LGBT Gay-Straight Alliances or any of that stuff. Am I a huge Lady Gaga fan? No, but I think some of the stuff she does that helps LGBT kids is amazing. And it's great that that's mainstream. It's fantastic that there's a pop star who's willing to put herself out in that way.” ThinkingWayDoeHelpingKidsSchoolStarsStuffFansWillingHugeRight NowGayHigh SchoolPopsFantasticAgendasLgbtMainstreamConsideringGay MarriageAlliancesPop StarsGaga Author:Kathleen Hanna
“I love gay and lesbian parents. But I think we need a law that says lesbians and gay men have to raise their children together. This way, the kids would not only know how to build bookshelves, but they'd also instinctively know how to decorate them.” ThinkingKnowsMenWayNeedsChildrenKidsTogetherLawParentKnow HowGayRaisesGay MenBookshelves Book:I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me Source: I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me
“What is with this campy fixation on all things Ronald Reagan? They talk about him the way gay people talk about Barbra Streisand. I think they want him on a stamp so they can lick his ass. I think they wanted to name airports after him so they can say, "I'm coming into Reagan!"” PeopleThinkingWayWantGayAll ThingsAssStampsAirportsGay PeopleWant HimFixationStreisand Author:Bill Maher
“I have gay friends, I support gay rights, I have nothing against the gay community, but when I see two guys kissing, I think it's gross. And, by the way, it's gross when 99% of straight people do it, too.” PeopleThinkingWayTwoGuyCommunitySupportRightsGayKissingGrossGay RightsTwo GuysGay CommunityGay Friend Author:Artie Lange
“How about we get rid of separate bathrooms for boys and girls? Gays and straights share the bathroom with zero issues. We need to put an end to the sexist pooping policies of yesterday. The only way to achieve gender equality is to start crapping in front of each other.” WayNeedsEndsGirlBoysIssuesShareAchieveFrontsPolicyGayGenderYesterdayZeroBathroomGender EqualitySexistBoy And Girl Author:Daniel Tosh
“Just open your heart man and accept that people are gay. Thousands, probably millions of people are gay. And until we find a cure - we will practice unconditional love and tolerance towards these people. And we will let them get married because they're easier to track that way.” PeopleMenWayHeartAcceptingPracticeMillionsEasierGayMarriedTrackToleranceCuresUnconditional LoveUnconditionalOpen Your Heart Author:Arj Barker
“I learned this one growing up in Texas and, subsequently, living in Los Angeles: always use the 'usted' form when speaking to a Spanish official. Mexican border patrol cops don't like it when you call them 'amigo,' give them a hardy pat on the back, slip a $20 in their pocket. No bueno, it doesn't fly. By the way, those of you not laughing at that obviously took French in high school, and that was a gay choice.” WayGivingUseSchoolFormChoicesLaughingGrowing UpGrowingGayHigh SchoolBordersOfficialsPocketsLos AngelesTexasSlipsCopMexicanHardyBorder PatrolMexican Border Author:Iliza Shlesinger
“I've been aware of my gay fans since album one. There has been such great support from that community and it has gone both ways.” WayHas BeensCommunitySupportGoneFansGayAlbums Author:Josh Groban
“I'm for gay elopement, not for gay weddings. I've been with my boyfriend for twenty years. I don't feel like that would validate our relationship in any way. But I would really fight for someone else to have the right. Just elope, though, please.” WayFeelsYearsFightingPleaseGayTwentiesOur RelationshipMy Boyfriend Author:David Sedaris
“I think the best way to be an activist is to live your life well and be honest. It means being out. If you are not comfortable marching, you can make a big difference just by working side by side with someone who actually knows you're gay and a fine human being.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayHumansWellsMeanBigsSidesDifferencesHuman BeingsHonestFineGayComfortableBest WayBeing HonestActivistLive Your Life Author:Melissa Etheridge
“The fact remains that books that really put gay people in the center, and especially books that do so in a way that is sexually explicit, tend not to get a great deal of mainstream attention: they don't tend to sell well, and they don't tend to win major awards. This makes the occasional exception, like Alan Hollinghurst, all the more remarkable.” PeopleWayWellsBookFactsWinningDealsAttentionGayMajorsRemainsSellsRemarkableExceptionAwardsMainstreamOccasionalSexuallyGay PeopleExplicit Author:Garth Greenwell
“I am a gay writer, absolutely. And in no way does that fact limit the reach or importance of what I write.” WayWritingDoeFactsGayLimitsImportance Author:Garth Greenwell
“Many people say, "Oh, we have nothing against Puerto Ricans," and I wanted a way to unmask the people that say that they have nothing against gay people.” PeopleWayWantedGayGay People Author:Luis Negron
“The aborigines in Australia, the way they dress is very honest; it's not about: "Oh, you wear a skirt, you're gay."” WayHonestGayDressesAustraliaSkirts Author:Riccardo Tisci
“What happened in the 80's was that all the men died of AIDS. That was a particularly depressing time because so many people passed away and it was a very desperate and lonely time, so I think a lot of people felt that we were somehow, unreceived. Not only by the disease but also by the public image of the disease. It really gave homophobia a real shot in the arm and changed the way people viewed gays, queers. It became an entirely different atmosphere.” PeopleThinkingMenWayDifferentRealFeltHappenedChangedHe ManArmsGayDiseaseShotsLonelyDiedAidsAtmosphereDesperateDepressingHomophobiaPassed AwayPublic Image Author:Margaret Cho
“I don't understand the whole Christian conservativism doesn't make sense to me because I was raised very Christian and its kind of an odd thing but my parents, my family is also very conservative in their own way but I understand the bible and I studied Christianity very well and I don't see where the hatred of gays comes from because it really defeats Christ's purpose.” WayWellsKindWholeChristianPurposeParentChristChristianityGayMy FamilyHatredRaisedDefeatConservativeMake SenseOddOdd Things Author:Margaret Cho
“People that are much younger in areas that are much more, kind of, disenfranchised, I guess, as far as the gay movement goes, they still have a language that they've discovered around things. And they have a vocabulary to use, and they have a way to express themselves even when they're not accepted.” PeopleWayKindStillsUseLanguageMovementGayAreasAcceptedVocabularyDisenfranchised Author:Amy Ray
“The only thing I have going on at a personal level is just the way I knew I was gay and I knew what that meant inside me, but the gender aspect of who I am came later.” WayLevelsGayAspectGenderWho I Am Author:Amy Ray
“I feel like there are a lot of people doing a lot of hard work. I think it's too early to judge, and I don't think the gay community is in any way falling short.” PeopleThinkingWayFeelsHardFallCommunityJudgingHard WorkGayGay Community Author:Amy Ray
“If you're a teacher, for instance, there are ways to have positive representation of gay people in the classroom. Making sure that, historically, people are noted and archived, and that kids are getting just positive images of people who are gay.” PeopleIfsWayKidsTeacherGayInstanceClassroomRepresentationGay PeoplePositive Image Author:Amy Ray
“I feel like I've always had gay fans, I don't think my dating a woman has changed my demographic, but it certainly changed the way I feel about politics.” ThinkingWayFeelsFansChangedGayDatingDemographics Author:Sia Furler
“You don't bring in a gay character as a way of commenting on gay issues. You have one there because he's real, and that's his life, no less so than your life is yours.” WayRealCharacterLife IsIssuesGay Author:Teju Cole
“Ultimately, I felt fortunate, because in many ways I did identify with aspects of being gay that were very stereotypical. I was a big theatre kid in high school, I was creative, I was very emotionally sensitive, even hypersensitive. I loved female divas.” WayBigsKidsSchoolFeltCreativeGayHigh SchoolFemaleAspectTheatreFortunateSensitiveBeing Gay Author:Christopher Rice
“When I was writing the book, I thought "Who wants to hear another story about some actor who lost his way?" But my story is a little unique in that I realized when I was 14 years old that I was different. I think a lot of gay people use drugs and alcohol to quell that fear and shame - especially people of my age.” PeopleThinkingWayWantWritingYearsLittlesBookDifferentStoriesUseAgeActorsLostGayDrugUniqueShameAlcoholI RealizedGay PeopleDrugs And Alcohol Author:Leslie Jordan
“We do not accept the Western way of thinking that there are two ways of life. At the same time, the police (here) are not chasing gays. In Africa, sexuality is something very private, even for heterosexuals. Heterosexuals are not parading! But gays want to behave like exhibitionists.” ThinkingWayWantTwoAcceptingGayPoliceWesternSexualityBehaveChasingWay Of ThinkingTwo WaysExhibitionist Author:Yoweri Museveni
“The absence of marriages will result in all kinds of financial burdens that gay people wouldn't face if they could get married. If my brother gets hit by a car tomorrow, my sister-in-law will go on living materially in the same way that she does now. If the same thing happens to me, a great deal of what I have will go off to the taxman. That's because of one of, as you doubtless know, eleven hundred federal laws that favor marriage.” PeopleIfsKnowsWayKindDoeHappensFacesLawResultsDealsCarBrotherGoes OnTomorrowGayMarriedHundredFinancialBurdenAbsenceFavorsThings HappenAll KindsMy BrotherMy SisterElevenIn-lawsGay PeopleSister In LawFinancial Burden Author:Andrew Solomon
“I do think that if the Church can see its way to greater tolerance, Church members will have greater exposure to gay people, and the lives of those gay people will be better.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayChurchGreaterGayMembersToleranceExposureGay PeopleChurch Members Author:Andrew Solomon
“I think what Lawrence did was provide an assurance that gay and lesbian couples could live openly in society as free people and start families and raise families and participate fully in their communities without fear. And two things flowed from that, I think. One is that has brought us to the point where we understand now in a way even that we did not fully understand in Lawrence, that gay and lesbian people and gay and lesbian couples are full and equal members of the community.” PeopleThinkingWayTwoCommunityCoupleGayEqualMembersRaisesTwo ThingsAssurance Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“I look at my little ones and I love them so much. I think to myself, "By God, if my son is gay, it's not that he was turned or learned into it. My son, his soul, the way he was born ... this is him.” IfsThinkingWayLooksLittlesSoulBornSonGayMy Son Author:Michael Buble
“The way even movements change is stunning: Chinese communist capitalists? Evangelicals deciding to be nice to gay people?” PeopleWayNiceMovementGayChineseCommunistCapitalistBeing NiceGay PeopleStunning Author:Frank Schaeffer
“"Liberating" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be good friends with myself, so nothing anyone says that's truthful about me ever bothers me.” KnowsWayStillsGayBe GoodManageBotherPhrasesTruthfulGood FriendLiberating Author:Jim Goad
“There was no way to have a decent life and to be gay. So I was terrified that I was going to be caught, and I had already experienced quite a bit of bullying. And, you know, I just thought that only misery lay ahead, and that if I - when I got caught that would be the solution. I wish I could say that was a thing of the past. But, you know, it's not.” IfsKnowsWayWould BePastWishBitsGaySolutionsLaysMiseryCaughtDecentBullyingTerrifiedDecent Life Author:Cleve Jones
“[John Boswell] introduction of the concept of "gay" (in the way he defines it) provides us both with a useful instrument of research and at the same time a better comprehension of how people actually conceive of themselves and their sexual behavior.” PeopleWayGayBehaviorResearchConceptsInstrumentsIntroductionComprehension Author:Michel Foucault
“Today, the gay and lesbian people are accepted. Their families are welcome in the units where they serve. This is not so for transgender people in any way. But, nevertheless, it could be.” PeopleWayTodayGayAcceptedWelcomeNeverthelessUnitsTransgender Author:Allyson Robinson
“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
“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 think as a gay person, there was no way in my generation to not grow up with shame and a sense of being wrong. It was impossible to avoid. Externally, you might make choices that are very public and very open but internally that was a struggle.” ThinkingWayPersonsMightChoicesGrowsStruggleGrowing UpImpossibleGenerationsGayShameMy GenerationBeing Wrong Author:Ira Sachs
“As anyone who is gay will confirm, being that way is not something you become, it is a set of emotional and physical responses that just are.” WayEmotionalGayResponseLgbtBeing GayPhysical Attraction Author:Lance Loud
“Another argument, vaguer and even less persuasive, is that gay marriage somehow does harm to heterosexual marriage. I have yet to meet anyone who can explain to me what this means. In what way would allowing same-sex partners to marry diminish the marriages of heterosexual couples?” WayMeanDoeSexMarriageCoupleGayArgumentHarmPartnersAllowingDiminishGay MarriagePersuasiveMarry MeHeterosexual Marriage Author:Ted Olson
“The only way to get gay issues off the front pages of Canadian newspapers is to grant gay and lesbian people our full civil equality and leave it alone.” PeopleWayIssuesFrontsGayPagesNewspapersGrants Author:Dan Savage