Nicole Maines Quotes

I don't feel pressure, I think there's fun to have. And I want to show that being gay and of color doesn't have to be a sob story all the time. It can actually be really jokes and empowering.

My visibility may have gotten Hollywood to redefine what's attractive.

I thought, 'Oh, this is great,' because maybe someone who does look like me will watch 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and realize that they can be an actor if they want to be, or they can be a superhero. They can have a hero that looks like them as well.

I'm very proud to be representing Latinas and women of color, young mothers and full-figured women. I just love that we're seeing different types of people on screen.

As an Asian-American actor, I believe it is important to never settle for the status quo. I feel a responsibility to do everything in my power to create positive perceptions of Asian Americans through my work.

It meant something to see people who looked like me in comic books. It was this beautiful place that I felt pop culture should look like.

I think when I was a young person, there was just kind of - there was very little dialogue about it. And there was just kind of one way to be gay, right? You saw very effeminate guys. You saw very butch women. And there was no kind of in-between. And there was no - you know, there wasn't anything in the media. There wasn't anything on television.

It's important, as a young person of color, to see yourself reflected in the media.

It's so important for women to create images of women - or any group, at that.

I think representation is the most important thing in the world. People who are young look up to the things that they see in the media. They want to relate and to be able to say, 'Wow, I can be successful.'

Having trans people play trans roles show that we are valid in our identities, and we exist.

I'd never have imagined it when I was younger. A trans woman on the cover of 'Time?' That is unfathomable to the 15-year-old me.

Having brought diversity to the air in the way that we have with Kerry Washington and Viola Davis toplining their shows, and then shows like 'Fresh Off the Boat' and 'Black-ish,' have been very important. I look forward to continuing in that vein.

I don't want to be an ambassador for too many charities, because it's a far stronger message to be a person with a disfigurement going about their life doing everyday things.

I feel like I'm opening the doors for more people. That they feel more comfortable being out. Especially in the hip-hop community.

I never grew up seeing women that looked like me in magazines or on TV and didn't feel like I had a place in the world of fashion. I am honoured to be part of that change.

I feel bad for my little cousins who don't see themselves being represented, or the little girls in my community who won't have a chance to see a Disney princess... who resembles them.

I happen to believe that trans people are anointed, and because of our experiences and the unique way we see the world, we can bring so much to a role. We just need the opportunity to show that.

The significance of playing a South Asian character that's a lead role in a network primetime television show is certainly not lost on me.

Being a black transgender woman in America is really hard. It's been really hard for me. But for me living a lie was much worse. I need to be in my truth. And I've been very, very lucky that I've been able to live my dreams and I believe everyone should have the right to live their dreams. This is America. We're supposed to all have that right.

I have a 6-year-old niece who doesn't look like the majority of girls on the covers of magazines. I hope that by the time she's 16, the world will have changed.

In the past, I was sometimes put in this women's lit category, and I was never really sure that was the appropriate place for me - although I certainly recognize it can be helpful and correct for other people.

I mean, I am fully aware of my influence and my responsibility to society in general representing the gay community. But in the same time, I don't represent the entire gay community because it's a vast, vast community, as one can imagine.

Between 'Orange' with Laverne, the show 'Transparent,' and Caitlyn Jenner, obviously we're in the middle of something enormous - a transgender movement. I'm just proud to be alive during this massive shift in the world.

My hope is that shows like 'Fresh Off the Boat' open the door for even more of those kinds of characters for Asian actors and actresses.