Jazz Jennings Quotes

All I can really say is to encourage anybody who's in the closet to come out, and congratulate anyone who has.

I watched a million coming-out videos, and that was kind of how I accepted it myself.

I think that anybody coming out and saying, 'This is who I am, and let me show it to you...' is good for the world.

There's kind of a gift in being gay because, if you come out, you're forced to express yourself.

When I came out, it wasn't a big formal conversation like in the movies. I just started living as my true and authentic self and opened up my life to my parents - sharing who I was, and bringing a girlfriend when I came home for a visit. To my great surprise, my parents accepted me for who I was and have supported me since.

The most moving responses I got to my coming out in the first place was people, like teenagers, letting me know that it made their lives easier in some way.

I want to continue to use my platform to tell my story to let young people that are struggling with their sexuality or identity know they are not alone, and it will get better.

I'm honestly not the kind of person who wants to step up to a podium, test the microphone and be like, 'Hey, I'm homosexual and this is who I am, hear me roar.' That's not who I am.

Nowadays, if somebody in America is feeling alone and wants to find a coming out story, they just search 'coming out,' and they'll find millions of first-person examples of people telling their story.

If I don't get a TV show next year because someone looks up my Wikipedia and it says 'openly gay,' then it's worth the risk because I've had so many years being openly gay and proud of myself as a role model.

Coming out is a means of redefining oneself, of claiming membership in a lifestyle and a social order with distinct values. Chief among these values is honesty.

Thanks to every gay person in public and non-public life who has come out.

Being from New York, if you're gay, you're gay. I think it's important that if you are gay, you not be afraid to say who you are.

I'm grateful to the LGBTQ community for giving me the courage to write music about who I am and not just about my sexual orientation.

I am lucky to say now that it is not frightening for me, living in L.A., to be gay. Even when I was in Texas, I wasn't afraid. I was kind of out in high school. I just could never decide on what label. I am glad that I am public about it, and I think I should be.

Saying to someone 'I'm a transsexual' is the most empowering thing I've ever felt in my whole life.

It's great to be out and proud.

To hang out in a gay bar or put on a sequined halter top makes me feel like a total person.

The fact that, for so many generations, ordinary, everyday Americans came out of the closet and told their family and friends about who they are has laid the foundation for public sentiment to change. They got comfortable in their own skins to be able to share themselves with family and friends. This is where social change took place.

The moment I realised anyone could be watching - and this is going to sound so name-droppy - was when Ricky Martin reached out to me on Coming Out Day 2012. The Internet has this massive potential, and you can never know the effect you might have on others by just being yourself.

I'm sure other people in the business have considered reasons why they're doing what they're doing, but I do think that if you're gay you have a responsibility to come out.

I love the mixture that's in me. It makes me me. And that's why it's such a shame that people waste energy in denying who they are.

There's no Hollywood tradition of maybe not telling people that you're gay to protect your future ambitions. The YouTube world is a little unprecedented. I think what people are seeing is that the more true to yourself you are, the more an audience will connect with you.

I am not gay, but if I were, I would be the first one running out of the closet.

I don't believe that if I came out as bisexual the world will change. But it's really important for people to be truthful about who they are and fight for equality. We need to help the world usher itself into the next phase.