20+ Harry Hay Quotes On Education, Friendship And Change

Harry Hay is an American celebrity, who is best known for being a gay rights activist. He was one of the founders of the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights organization in the United States. He was also a labor activist and a prominent figure in the early days of the American counterculture movement. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Harry Hay on life, education, love.

I'm not looking for a boyish girl. I'm looking for a boy. And I'm not looking for a girlish boy either. — Harry Hay

With the full realization that, in order to earn for ourselves any place in the sun, we must with perseverance and self-discipline work collectively for the full first-class citizenship participation of Minorities everywhere, including ourselves. — Harry Hay

Out of the mists of our long oppression, / We bring love for ourselves and each other, / And love for the gifts we bear, /So heavy and so painful the fashioning of them, /So long the road given us to travel them. A separate people, /We bring a gift to celebrate each other, /’Tis a gift to be gay! / Feel the pride of it! — Harry Hay

The assimilationist movement is running us into the ground. — Harry Hay

I was accustomed to walking alone. I'd find other people who agreed with me, but they also said, "I wouldn't dare mention it." I was the only one who would say, "We've got to stand." And they said, "Well, yes. And after you make it safe, then I'll stand, too. But you have to make it safe." — Harry Hay

Giving votes in exchange for ideological support. To wit: identity politics for homosexuals. — Harry Hay

Assimilation is the way you excuse yourself. It absolutely never worked at all. You may not think you are noticeable. But they know who you are. They know you're a degenerate, and they've never forgotten that. — Harry Hay

Ostracism means you don't exist at all. And that's a very difficult situation to live with. As gay people, we had been chasing ostracism by that point for probably 300 years. You just knew that you should have dropped into your black hole. — Harry Hay

I condemn the national gay press for its emphasis on consumerism. — Harry Hay

The police had a practice of entrapping people. This was done all over the country, but we had a particularly vicious group here in Southern California because of the Hollywood situation. They knew they could get a lot of them. They were shaking down people for thousands in blackmail. — Harry Hay

Underneath that facade, I'm a terrified little sissy, just like everybody else. But I never let it show. — Harry Hay

I was an older brother. So I had to do a lot of things first. My father was a self-made man, and he would beat me senseless. But he was a Scotsman, and stubborn. I'm his son, and I'm stubborn, too. I go on being stubborn. — Harry Hay

Up until I was eleven years old, I thought I was the only one of my kind in the world. I couldn't find anybody else who felt as I did. — Harry Hay

Give yourself permission to enjoy being gay. You do have to give yourself permission. You have been told you may not. Give yourself permission to be free. — Harry Hay

A law is a law. It can be voted in. It can be voted out. It can be voted in and stay in as long as you have the majority. And where do you have the majority? You kid yourself. — Harry Hay

If you look into the history of fashion, you'll discover that Gernreich was the leading name for years and the leading fashion designer both here in the United States and internationally. — Harry Hay

I knew that I was gay in every bone of my body. So I did the only thing I could do. I started the movement. — Harry Hay

I've always felt I carried a golden secret, a wonderful secret. Every time I thought about it, it made me feel warm inside and good. — Harry Hay

The moment you say, "We are proud. I'm proud to be this, and I'm proud to be that," what you're saying is we're almost as good as the others. "Almost" always means not quite. — Harry Hay

I always say to people, "If you share my dream, why don't we walk together?" And that's my only organizing tool. — Harry Hay

Life Lessons by Harry Hay

Harry Hay taught us to be proud of who we are and to fight for our rights. He showed us that standing up for what we believe in is essential for progress and that we should never be afraid to speak out against injustice. He also demonstrated how powerful it can be to create a community of like-minded people and to work together to create positive change.