Our favourite queer icons are always full of wisdom
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS
The last few years have been excellent for LGBTQI visibility, with a number of high-profile figures speaking honestly and openly about their queerness and inspiring so many others to do so.
Read on for some of the most inspiring quotes from DIVA’s queer icons that are sure to brighten your day!
“If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” – Zanele Muholi
“I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.” – Audre Lorde
“Sometimes people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognise your power – not because they don’t see it, but because they see it and they don’t want it to exist.” – Janet Mock
“To not have any hope is where things start to get really bleak. Things are possible. The impossible can be possible.” – Sarah Paulson
“I believe it’s time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them.” – Janelle Monáe
“You look ridiculous if you dance. You look ridiculous if you don’t dance. So you might as well dance.” – Gertrude Stein
“The only queer people are those who don’t love anybody.” ― Rita Mae Brown
“I’m a pretty open book, so not being out publicly felt inauthentic. Hopefully we can get to a point where your personal life isn’t anybody else’s business, but until then, it’s less about people having know about your sexuality than standing up for what’s right and fighting for equality.” ― Megan Rapinoe
“I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realised I was somebody.”― Lily Tomlin
“Just because I’m gay, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to sing at the top of my lungs all over the world and be able to achieve those dreams.” ― Hayley Kiyoko
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