POWERFUL LGBTQ+ QUOTES

-  Here are some powerful quotes from changemakers who have contributed to the movement for LGBTQ equity. These quotes will power up your gut to be more confident of who you are and be valued for your gender. ''POWER"✊💪

             

1. “Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?” – James Baldwin

In his iconic novel Giovanni’s Room, gay author James Baldwin makes a powerful statement about love. He proclaims that sex and gender don’t matter; all that matters is that two people love each other. Nothing should stand in their way if they have love in their hearts. These words resonated with millions of people who felt like their emotions were invalid because of the gender of the object of their love. With this quote, Baldwin assured them that it didn’t matter because love is love.

                 

2. “If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” – Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi is a South African activist and artist. She works primarily in photography and video. Despite her fame as an artist, Muholi identifies herself as an activist first. It is her intention to use her art to highlight the beauty and individuality of black LGBTQ women: a group that she believes has been terribly underrepresented in all forms of art. So, instead of waiting for someone else to validate LGBT women of color, she took it upon herself to bring the struggles, needs, and beauty of these women to light.

3. “I am proud, that I found the courage to deal the initial blow to the hydra of public contempt.” – Karl Heinrich Ulrichs

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs is known as one of the first gay men to publicly announce his sexual identity. Born in Germany in 1825, his coming out was a historic and brave moment. During his lifetime, Ulrichs wrote numerous essays discussing homosexuality and asserting that non-heterosexual orientations are natural and biological. Despite being arrested numerous times, Ulrichs stated in the above quotation that he was proud of the work that he did for the LGBTQ community.

4. “It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.”– Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, a former Icelandic Prime Minister and the first openly gay head of state, uttered these words during a speech at a 2014 Pride festival. In this speech, she was thankful that her native country was making strides towards acceptance and equal rights for LGBTQ people. However, she emphasized that until these rights are status quo all over the world, we cannot consider ourselves truly free. This marked one of the first calls from a head of state to make LGBTQ rights the standard worldwide.

5. “Every LGBTQ+ refugee has a unique situation—but the fear and pain they endured before coming to Canada is universal.” – Arsham Parsi

Arsham Parsi, an Iranian refugee living in Canada in exile, has made it his mission to help LGBTQ people living in Iran: a nation where acts of homosexuality are punishable by flogging or even death. In the above quotation, Parsi seeks the assistance of LGBTQ people living in Western nations, providing a powerful reminder that while things are slowly improving in the west, there are still queer people all over the world who live every day afraid for their very lives.

These quotes from different people who know how to value other gender is very educative and powering up the confident to see yourself as something important and powerful without any doubtee about yourself.