Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Quotes

The moment I came out as a gay man, I never really thought of the consequences. Of course, the proverbial happened: it hits the newswires, and it's this big, big thing.

If what you want is a life where your homosexuality is not an issue, move, as many have done.

I was horrified when Richard Chamberlain and Rupert Everett said gay actors should stay in the closet. They were saying to people that they should live a lie and not be liberated, to live in fear of being found out.

If I had come out during my acting career in the 1950s, I would not have had a career.

Some people in the industry warned me that I'd ruin my career, miss out on possible jobs, and potentially put my life in danger if I ever came out.

I didn't come out for 21 years because I thought that everything I wanted to do with my life - have a family, get a great job, make a change in this world - that the moment I came out, that I would not be able to do any of those things.

When I first started teaching at Berkeley in 1958, I could not announce that I was gay to anybody, though probably quite a few of my fellow teachers knew.

I think it's always good for gay people to come out, but it's also understandable why people might choose not to do so.

I didn't choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman-that was the terrifying thing for me. Especially being a gay actress.

I don't particularly like going on about being gay or making a big thing about it, but I think it's a bit of a pain to be secretive about it.

Gay people - generally speaking - have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can.

I think younger players probably just think they are who they are-they don't think about coming out. Unless you're number one in the world, nobody cares, usually.

It's a good thing that columnists don't make homosexuality their last taboo anymore. But I wish the columnists themselves would come out too.

I think it's interesting: What is the generational effect of the experience of being a gay person in America? For my generation, it was very difficult.

It became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.

One of the side benefits of staying in the closet is you can have a much bigger career.

I don’t believe that opposite sex and same sex marriages are the same, but I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same sex relationships are over.

If every gay person were to come out only to his/her own family, friends, neighbors and fellow workers, within days the entire state would discover that we are not the stereotypes generally assumed.

When I was a teenager, the biggest heartthrob was Tab Hunter. He was in every movie out of Warner Bros. until he was exposed as gay, and his career faded. That was an object lesson. I knew I must protect my sexual orientation.

I was very lucky to hear the story of Harvey Milk, it was life-saving for me. I wanted to share it in case it helped others, but the story of one gay man isn't going to do it.

I think of those who are so much less fortunate than me all the time. I came out to people clapping and an outpour of support. And the reality is, for a lot of people, they get kicked out of their homes or are faced with violence.

There are still parts of the country where it's hard: when you realize you're gay, it's like a death sentence.

I do have a lot of gays in my family now, but some will never come out.

A lot of people thought I was gay.

When your doctor and neighbours and child's schoolteachers know you are gay, there is no closet for you to hide in.