Wear your heart on your sleeve this month of pride.
Perhaps that means showing up at a local pride parade or protesting as a sign of support. Or maybe it’s by posting a message on Instagram or Facebook, urging the people in your life to celebrate the love — yours, theirs, and everyone else — out loud and proudly.
Having said that, it can be hard to find the right words to fulfill the moment – one that sheds light on how far we have come and how far we have left. If you struggle to sum up your feelings, turn to these Pride Month quotes From LGBT activists, advocates and allies for inspiration.
The quotes below illustrate all that Pride Month represents: the beauty of inclusion, acceptance, diversity, and of course, love. On this list, you’ll find everything from reinforcing messages about self-love to heartbreaking reflections on the heartbreak and loss the LGBTQ community still faces.
Once you find a feeling that expresses what’s in your heart, share it widely to remind anyone who sees it love is love. And if you want more options, check out this list of LGBTQ quotes from celebrities, writers, and thought leaders.
- “How many years did it take for people to realize that we are all brothers, sisters, and human beings in the human race?” —Marsha B. Johnson
- “We have to do this because we can no longer remain invisible. We must be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are.” – Silvia Rivera
- “If you are not personally free to be yourself in the most important human activity—the expression of love—life itself loses its meaning.” Harvey’s milk
- “We are strong because we survived.” – Audre Lorde
- “Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle really wins in the hearts and minds of society, where that is really important.” – Barbara Glings
- “Someone, your father or my father, should have told us that not many people have died for love. But multitudes perished, and every hour perishes–and in the strangest places!–for its lack.” – James Baldwin
- “Don’t be bullied in silence. Never allow yourself to be a victim. Don’t accept anyone’s definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein
- “We need, in every society, a group of trouble-making angels.” – Bayard Rustin
- “If you’re part of a group called ‘other’—a group that doesn’t stand a chance of being center stage—build your own theatre, and let them see you. Your crow is beautiful, your blackness is beautiful, your compassion, your understanding, your struggle for people who might be different from you is a beautiful thing.” – Beyonce
- “When you spread love into the world, it travels, and it can touch people and reach people in ways we never expected.” – Laverne Cox
- “Sex and sexuality are so resilient. It’s okay to change your mind a million times and figure out what works for you. It’s okay to take your time.” – Amandla Stenberg
- “I’m not gay, but if I were, I’d be the first to run out of the closet.” – Dolly Parton
- “This world would be a lot better if we made an effort to be less terrible to each other.” – Elliot page
- “It’s still weird for anyone to have any moral objection to another person’s sexuality. It’s like telling someone else how to clean their house.” – Phoenix River
- “I think being gay is a blessing, and I’m thankful for every single day.” – Anderson Cooper
- “This society fought and is still fighting a war of acceptance and a war of tolerance and relentless courage. You are the definition of courage, do you know that?” – lady gaga
- “Personally, going out was one of the most important things I’ve ever done, and lifted from my shoulder millstones of lies I didn’t realize I held.” Sir Ian McKellen
- “Having our story and loving ourselves through this process is the bravest thing we will ever do.” – Brené Brown
- “Being a gay woman, black and female is not a revolutionary act. Pride in being gay, a black woman is.” – Lena Waithe
- “The more I accept myself as a human without sex, in a way, the more I love my body.” – Sam Smith
- “There is no right or wrong way to be gay. There is no right or wrong way to get out. It’s your journey, do it the way you want to.” – Tan France
- “Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.” – Jason Collins
- “Nature has erred, and she has corrected it.” – Kristen Jorgensen
- “I don’t miss a minute of this. It’s the revolution!” – Silvia Rivera
- “You don’t have to be gay to be a pro, you just have to be human.” – Daniel Radcliffe
- “We are not what others say we are. We are what we know ourselves, and we are what we like. That’s fine.” – Laverne Cox
- “It’s time to love people for who they are and let them love who they want to.” – Ellen DeGeneres
- “I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to each other and the world, is a revolutionary act. It is an act that can be met with hostility, exclusion, and violence. It can also lead to love, understanding, transcendence, and community.” – Janet Mock
- “I want to make sure that any young man or anyone who really looks at me – sees a glimpse of me as a person – sees no shame, that they see pride, that I am really not ashamed of the person I am.” – Samira Wiley
- “If I wait for someone else to check in on me, that means I’m shortening myself.” – Zanelli Moholi
- “We must remember that our greatest strength lies in our love for life, colour, beauty, music, dance and joy. This is our secret weapon. This is something the opposition does not have. Keep these things close to you and dear to your heart because in time of war they will support you.” – RuPaul Charles
- “We must indeed keep calm in the face of difference, live our lives in a state of inclusion and question the diversity of humanity.” – George Takei
- “I want people to fall in love with themselves and be really proud and full of joy for the space they occupy. If someone else values the space it takes up, that’s the icing on the cake.” – Jonathan Van Ness
- “Follow your intuition and don’t feel like you owe any kind of explanation to anyone. Your sex life is only yours, so build on it at your own pace.” – Daya
- “The whole sexual issue is very grey. I’m just trying to admit that the fluidity, that grey, has always been there. But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it.” – Kristen Stewart
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