The despondency that follows makes me feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man who spies a sail, sees himself saved, and suddenly remembers that the lens of his spyglass has a flaw, a blurred spot -- the sail he has seen.
Jean GenetRead
I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker acknowledges their identity without needing to justify it, much like innate physical traits.
In this quote, Jean Genet expresses that being homosexual is an intrinsic part of who he is, similar to the color of his eyes; it's an inherent quality that doesn't require explanation or justification. This statement emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and the idea that certain aspects of our identities are simply natural and not subject to questioning or debate.
Themes
HomosexualityIdentityAcceptanceSelf-AcceptancePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a pride event to promote self-acceptance and love.
More from Jean Genet
All quotes βErotic play discloses a nameless world which is revealed by the nocturnal language of lovers. Such language is not written down. It is whispered into the ear at night in a hoarse voice. At dawn it is forgotten.
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I wanted to swallow myself by opening my mouth very wide and turning it over my head so that it would take in my whole body, and then the Universe, until all that would remain of me would be a ball of eaten thing which little by little would be annihilated: that is how I see the end of the world.
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I decided to be what crime made of me.
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It's a true image, born of a false spectacle.
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Anyone who hasn't experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all.
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