Category: LGBTQ

Sara Ramirez

SARA RAMIREZ

“I was born to a dark-brown Mexican father and a white Mexican Irish American mother. There was so much xenophobia that I internalized. I thought, ‘I’m not white, and that’s bad.’ I grew up with a lot of shame, and that creates confusion around your identity and worth. I was assigned female at birth, so I grew up under these conditions to wear my hair a certain way or dress a certain way, things that felt really rigid and not right for my body. What I ended up doing was trying to constantly perform as a woman. It felt like a question of survival. Being nonbinary isn’t about being married to one hairdo or a way of dressing. It doesn’t mean I don’t ever like wearing makeup or wearing my hair long. It has more to do with understanding of your gender as being on a spectrum. A lot of times you don’t feel male or female, other times you feel like both, and other times you feel like neither. I’ve learned to befriend my feelings instead of running away from them. I’ve learned to dance with change. I can embrace all of who I am. I finally feel free.” People Magazine

Andrew Garfield

ANDREW GARFIELD
 “This means a great deal. Thank you so much. At a moment in time when maybe the most important thing we remember right now is the sanctity of the human spirit, it is the profound privilege of my life to play Prior Walter in Angels in America because he represents the purest spirit of humanity and especially that of the LGBTQ community. It is that spirit that says no to oppression, it is a spirit that says no to bigotry, no to shame, no to exclusion. It is a spirit that says we were all made perfectly, and we all belong. So I dedicate this award to the countless LGBTQ who have fought and died to protect that spirit. To protect that message for the right to live and love as we are created to… we are all sacred. Let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked!”  Garfield’s acceptance speech for winning Best Actor Tony Award, 2018

Halsey

HALSEY
“Bi-sexual people have to deal with the misconceptions that their identity is just a phase, and that they’ll eventually decide whether they are gay or straight. PSA: They’re neither, and no one should ever feel pressured to fit their sexuality into a binary if it’s not their truth. There are many, many ways to be bisexual. Each individual gets to say how they identify, and nobody’s sexual orientation is up for debate.”  Teen Vogue Magazine

Anne Hathaway

ANNE HATHAWAY
“There are people who have said that I’m being brave for being openly supportive of gay marriage, gay adoption — basically of gay rights — but with all due respect, I humbly dissent. I’m not being brave; I’m being a decent human being. And I don’t think I should receive an award for that or for merely stating what I believe to be true: that love is a human experience, not a political statement.” Human Rights Campaign

Ellen Degeneres

ELLEN DEGENERES on Compassion

“The only way I am trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate to one another. That is the message that I am sending out. I don’t have an agenda. I’m not here to brainwash anyone. I want you to live your lives, being exactly who you are. Be true to yourself. The most important thing is to be true to yourself.” The Ellen Show

John Barrowman

 

JOHN BARROWMAN

“I knew at a very young age that I was gay. I was walking back to my locker and this kid caught up to me and he called me “fag”, punched me in the face, shoved me in the locker and shut the door. What do you do? You’re mortified, you’re embarrassed, you just think, what do I tell my mom and dad?”

Barrowman eventually stood up to his bully.

“You can hit me, you can punch me, and you can bully me and do everything you want. Punch me in the face as many times you want, but I will always get back up.”

Barrowman  cautions that you shouldn’t try to do it alone.

“You have to find people around you to support you, right? Your friends. Your family. We all love super heroes. Why not be one? So make a stand for who you are and make a stand for someone else.”  CBS8.com