My dad was a homicide cop in the gay neighborhood in the city when gay neighborhoods were desperate, depressing, sad places run by the mob. The only gay people he'd met when I came out to him were corpses.
Dan SavageRead
When I was in high school I got involved in the fringe theater scene in Chicago, and I met some openly gay people. I could see that it got better, that they were happy and loved and supported. I saw with my own eyes that it got better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the positive changes in the lives of openly gay individuals and the supportive communities around them.
In this quote, Dan Savage shares his personal experience of witnessing the lives of openly gay people in the fringe theater scene, highlighting how their happiness and support systems demonstrate a significant improvement in their lives. By emphasizing 'it got better,' he underscores the importance of acceptance and the transformative power of love and community, particularly within the LGBTQ+ context.
Themes
LgbtqAcceptanceCommunitySupportHappiness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote at a pride event to inspire acceptance and support among audience members.
More from Dan Savage
All quotes →A huge part of what animates homophobia among young people is paranoia and fear of their own capacity to be gay themselves.
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It's going to take generations of gay people marrying before these things start to feel natural. We haven't had it long enough to remake it as our own, so it does feel like you're getting dressed up in straight drag to do it.
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And that really captures the difference for the bullied straight kid versus the bullied gay kid, is that the bullied straight kid goes home to a shoulder to cry on and support and can talk freely about his experience at school and why he's being bullied. [...] And I couldn't go home and open up to my parents.
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A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It's often the effeminate boys and the masculine girls, the ones who violate gender norms and expectations, who get bullied.
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Like it or not children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents all over America - as many as 10 million children. And it does nothing to make their lives more stable and secure to attack their families, to attack their parents to prevent us from marrying each other.
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