Life

11 Encouraging Quotes About Being LGBTQ

by Eliza Castile

Considering how long LGBTQ people have been marginalized and oppressed, it's no surprise that happy quotes about being LGBTQ aren't exactly thick on the ground. Although 2015 was an historic year for LGBTQ rights, there are still a number of issues facing the community; as the Human Rights Campaign predicted at the beginning of 2016, trans individuals in particular have been targeted by discriminatory legislation. The most recent examples, of course, are the anti-trans laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi, which were condemned by U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. earlier this week, but they're far from the only laws aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights in the wake of 2015's progress.

It's depressing stuff — but that's exactly why it's important to celebrate being LGBTQ. Even though the community still faces discrimination and a lack of representation in the media, there are still milestones to get excited about: Trans activists are more visible than ever, same-sex marriage is legal in the United States, and Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres remain the cutest, loveliest couple in the universe. If the latter isn't enough to give you the warm and fuzzies, it might be time to get your software updated, you cold-hearted robot. Just look at their faces!

However, I've been told that not everyone adores certain celebrity couples the way I do. Without further ado, let's take a look at 11 encouraging quotes about being LGBTQ.

1. "The single best thing about coming out of the closet is that nobody can insult you by telling you what you've just told them."

Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Rachel Maddow, American journalist

2. "I am a rare species, not a stereotype."

Ivan E. Coyote, Canadian author and storyteller

3. "I'm living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay."

Jason Kempin/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Portia de Rossi, Australian actress

4. "Love yourself, whatever makes you different, and use it to make you stand out. Mine is my voice and the fact that I'm gay: well, the fact that I'm flamboyantly gay."

Ross Matthews, American entertainer

5. "I think my biggest statement I could give to the world is to be strong being myself. ... You have to make something of yourself, and that's what makes us strong."

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Johnny Weir, American figure skater

6. "The beauty of standing up for your rights is others will see you standing and stand up as well."

Cassandra Duffy, American author

7. "I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that's ever happened to me has taught me compassion."

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian

8. "All of us who are openly gay are living and writing the history of our movement. ... We are ordinary people, living our lives and trying, as civil-rights activist Dorothy Cotton said, to 'fix what ain't right' in our society."

Tammy Baldwin, Democratic Senator

9. "It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist."

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Laverne Cox, American actress

10. "Bruce always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie. Caitlyn doesn't have any secrets."

— Caitlyn Jenner

11. "Part of the lesbian consciousness is an absolute recognition of the erotic within our lives and, taking that a step further, dealing with the erotic not only in sexual terms."

Audre Lorde, Caribbean-American feminist, poet, and activist

Images: Pixabay; Wikimedia Commons