It's not like we wanted to talk about the fact that we're gay all the time, but the world has forced it to be an issue.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the frustration of having to address one's identity due to societal pressures.
John Grant's quote highlights how individuals from the LGBTQ+ community often feel compelled to discuss their sexual orientation not out of desire, but because society continues to stigmatize it as a pressing issue. This reflects the broader struggle against societal norms that demand constant justification or explanation of one's identity.
In practice
In a speech at a pride event to emphasize the importance of visibility.
I spent many years trying to fit in and do things the way I thought I was supposed to - trying to be perceived the way I thought people wanted to see me. I grew up in a very religious household and wasn't taught to feel comfortable or good about my sexuality, so it feels great to be able to say things the way I want to say them.
A friend of mine always says, βWomen love me for the man Iβm not.β
If you want to understand your parents more, get them to talk about their own childhood; and if you listen with compassion, you will learn where their fears and rigid patterns come from. Those people who 'did all that stuff to you' were just as frightened and scared as you are.
It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality. And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian. It`s very distressing to me that that should be the case. The film industry is very old fashioned in California.
It is a mark of the depth of their wounding that they are pretending they suspected it all along. Everything that they have seen and been told about love so far has been an inside perspective, and they are not prepared for the crashing weight of this exclusion. It dawns on them now how much they never saw and how little they were wanted, and with this dawning comes a painful re-imagining of the self as peripheral, uninvited, and utterly minor.
Four D's of Disconnection: 1. Diagnosis (judgment, analysis, criticism, comparison); 2. Denial of Responsibility; 3. Demand; 4. 'Deserve' oriented language.
We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people. We must never get out of touch with them if we are going to use the Word of God skillfully amongst them and if the Holy Spirit is to apply the Word of God through us.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.