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There is a fantasy as old as the modern gay rights movement that if all our skins turned lavender overnight, the majority, confounded by our numbers and our diversity, and recognising a few of our faces, would at once let go of prejudice forevermore.
Ian Mckellen
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses the hope that visible diversity in the LGBTQ+ community could dissolve prejudice against it.

Ian McKellen's quote reflects a longing for a world where societal prejudices fade if people were to recognize the humanity and diversity within the LGBTQ+ community. It captures the fantasy that a sudden and visible change in appearance would lead others to accept and embrace differences, highlighting the absurdity of prejudice in the face of commonality.

Themes

Gay RightsPrejudiceDiversityAcceptanceHumanity

In practice

Example use cases

During a pride event, speaking about the importance of visibility in the LGBTQ+ community.

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There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay.
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What's nice for me, having identified myself for years as being rather shy, is now, wherever I am, in public, there tends to be a friendly face who's pleased to see me, and I like that.
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