Jamie Lynn > Jamie's Quotes

“At the border of where I will literally not survive so long as I keep living in so much fear of the harsh judgments of others, I am finally conceding the truth to you all.

I am finally conceding the truth to me.

I am something other than straight.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing: The Best of Year One

“Clary- "How to Come Out to Your Parents," she read out loud. "LUKE. Don't be ridiculous. Simon's not gay, he's a vampire.”
― Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

“But I'm tired of coming out. All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. I get a girlfriend. I have a beer. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again.”
― Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.”
― Harvey Milk

“I don’t want anyone to hold back who they are. It’s not okay… it’s not a good thing”
― Connor Franta

“Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better”
― Harvey Milk

“The world is so obsessed with defining sexuality for everyone and attaching labels to it. Any time any person openly leaves the sexual norm, their sexuality becomes, more often than not, the absolute defining characteristic of that person. It becomes the first thing people think about and often the first thing they mention. Every other part of that person all but disappears.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing: The Best of Year One

“If only I could change the world around me, perhaps my truth won’t one day be the end of me.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing: The Best of Year One

“Once," Fran says, settling against the worktable, folding her arms, "I knew this kid who very bravely and bossily came out of the closet when she was only fourteen years old. She told me then that we can't choose who we love. We just love the people we love, no mattter what anyone else might want for us. Wasn't that you?”
― Madeleine George, The Difference Between You and Me

“So he was queer, E.M. Forster. It wasn't his middle name (that would be 'Morgan'), but it was his orientation, his romping pleasure, his half-secret, his romantic passion. In the long-suppressed novel Maurice the title character blurts out his truth, 'I'm an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort.' It must have felt that way when Forster came of sexual age in the last years of the 19th century: seriously risky and dangerously blurt-able. The public cry had caught Wilde, exposed and arrested him, broken him in prison. He was one face of anxiety to Forster; his mother was another. As long as she lived (and they lived together until she died, when he was 66), he couldn't let her know.”
― Michael Levenson

“I'm assuming you didn't just call me to come out of the closet to a blind woman'

'Oh, it's something I do everyday,' Kate said, enjoying Faith's sense of humor. 'I open up a phone book, randomly select a name, dial it, and when they answer, I proclaim I'm a lesbian and then hang up.”
― Laurie Salzler, Positive Lightning

“Gay is not about fashion, being rich, drag queens or queer or the color pink. What gay is about is love, self-happiness, unity, contentment, emotions.' Gay is a lot of things. I'm gay, but gay is not what I'm about. Gay is just a part of me.”
― Brad Matthew Fuglei

“When someone comes to a pastor or a close friend and says "I think I'm gay", rest assured 99% are. How we respond creates light or darkness.
Please be aware that when you've never heard anything positive about being gay and you've laboured secretly over this for ages, you don’t make a declaration like that lightly. It takes an enormous amount of courage to eventually tell someone. This is not an empowering coming out though or finally finding a place of self-acceptance; the statement is cloaked in fear and shame. The statement "I think I'm gay" is not really about doubt or confusion it's more likely they are saying "I'm gay, but it scares the shit out of me and I don’t want to be. Help!"
At that point the pastor or friend has the privileged opportunity to provide a place of safety and compassion that will lead them on into self-acceptance and an authentic life. Handled unwisely could lead them into years of internal torment.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - a preacher's struggle with his homosexuality, church and faith

“Being gay wasn't his complete identity, but it felt like an important part of himself. And he wanted to be the one to control who knew.”
― Ravon Silvius, Freshman Blues

“If a young person experiences same-sex attraction, nothing you can say will change that experience. However, what you say can impact whether or not that student feels safe with you and whether or not they will be willing to share their story with you.”
― Wendy Vanderwal-Gritter, Generous Spaciousness: Responding to Gay Christians in the Church

“But thats their image of us so we stay tense, holding our breath, hoping we wont be found out. - about being gay from the film Love My Life”
― Ebine Yamaji, Love My Life

“Most of us can't help but live as though we've got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between. But there's only one, and before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now there's sorrow. I don't envy the pain. But I envy you the pain. (p. 225)”
― André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

“Oh great, you too. So now I wear this label 'Queer' emblazoned across my chest. Or I could always carve a scarlet 'L' on my forehead. Why does everyone have to put you in a box and nail the lid on it? I don't know what I am—polymorphous and perverse. Shit. I don't even know if I'm white. I'm me. That's all I am and all I want to be. Do I have to be something?”
― Rita Mae Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle

“Every single courageous act of coming out chips away at the curse of homophobia. Most importantly it's destroyed within yourself, and that act creates the potential for its destruction where it exists in friends, family and society.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - a journey to find the truth

“Outing someone is like ripping a butterfly from its cocoon. You can damage them for life and rob them of THEIR life changing experience of liberation. For a successful emergence THEY have to struggle through the cocoon of fear and shame. THEN they can fly.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - a journey to find the truth

“There are those from religious backgrounds who resist and oppose LGBT equality; some very obsessively and publicly. They make bold accusations and negative statements about gay and lesbian people, their supposed "lifestyle" and relationships. But when a son, daughter, brother, sister or close friend comes out it is no longer an "issue" it becomes a person. They realise everything they'd said was painfully targeted at someone they love. Then......everything changes.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - one man's journey to find the truth

“When you hear of Gay Pride, remember, it was not born out of a need to celebrate being gay.

It evolved out of our need as human beings to break free of oppression and to exist without being criminalized, pathologized or persecuted.

Depending on a number of factors, particularly religion, freeing ourselves from gay shame and coming to self-love and acceptance, can not only be an agonising journey, it can take years.
Tragically some don't make it.

Instead of wondering why there isn't a straight pride be grateful you have never needed one.

Celebrate with us.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - a journey to find the truth

“And i wish I didn't have to lie so much. I don't think Frank Socrates would approve of all this lying.

I think Frank would want me to cause a lot more trouble than that.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“The closet does have a benefit. It provides safety. Which at times is important. But remember, as long as you are in there, two other things will be too. Fear and shame.”
― Anthony Venn-Brown, A Life of Unlearning - a preacher's struggle with his homosexuality, church and faith

“If she understood the difference between referring to me as "the gay guy" and using my name, the knowledge was lost between her vapid gaze and her single AAA-battery brain.”
― John Goode

“Ben let a slow smile play over his face. He loved this part. It always felt like revealing to a disbeliever that he had magical powers or something.”
― Jay Bell, Something Like Summer

“I reached for his other hand, which he quickly accepted and I pulled him up into a hug. I didn't know what the other kids in the room were thinking or saying or doing. And I didn't care. I had Jamie in my arms, and that was all the mattered.”
― Madison Parker