It doesn’t matter what you do, you are impacting people.” “I really, honestly think that anybody who is openly gay and visible is powerful. It’s like you, as a person, no longer exist.” People who used to say ‘she’ now said ‘he,’ and it’s not who I am and it’s not the person that I identify with.
#LEONARDO FAMOUS GAY MEN CRACKED#
I left the door cracked for other to walk through - And then the doors slammed … Once the doors closed, I was no longer a woman and I no longer got the respect of a woman. There was a perception that a transgender woman couldn’t be passable and work in fashion magazines and land contracts. “I’ve always said that the person that walks through the door first leaves the door cracked. Now I feel comfortable with myself, and I don’t have to be fearful about something damaging my career if it gets out, because now I’m in control of it - sort of. “I don’t think I could have done this a long time ago, and I don’t think people would have accepted it as readily as they do now.
#LEONARDO FAMOUS GAY MEN SKIN#
Being inside my own skin and being scared and being in pain? I just really wanted to feel love.” But sometimes for really deep-feeling people, it’s hard to actually feel that … Being gay and then having some of these demons that I felt I had to numb away - and some of the pain that I had throughout my career - it was part of who I am. “I came from a fairly conservative … I know my mom loves me - I know my family loves me. This time I was living in NY, I was supporting myself, and so she never said, ‘I don’t want you in my life.’ It was just that she didn’t understand and she had issues with the pronoun thing and the name change it was just like, ‘Girl, you gotta get this together.’” And then, when I came out to my mother as trans a few years later, it was after I started my medical transition, she took that easier. “I came out to my mom first as gay my sophomore year, and she freaked out. I just did what was true and honest to me in that moment.” I didn’t think of what the implications were gonna be. She just won a Tony Award - I’m not gonna pat her on the back, give her the big thumbs up and say, ‘Go up there and get your award, sweetie.’ It was not a really conscious thought. It was the reality of the person I was with. “I was a tomboy growing up, and I remember my mom asking me when I was 10, ‘Are you attracted to boys or girls?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ Now, I consider myself bisexual, and I think balancing my male and female energies has been a big part of me growing as an actor.” But talking and writing about my experiences have helped me finally accept the past and celebrate the fact that I was once a big dreamer who happened to be born a boy named Charles.” That’s why I decided to come out - It used to pain me to hear my birth name, a heartbreaking insult classroom bullies would shout to get a rise out of me. But the recent stories about kids who have killed themselves because of the secrets they were forced to keep has shifted something in me. “I never wanted to be the poster child for transsexuals - pre-op, post-op, or no op. Ellen DeGeneres, Janelle Monáe, Amandla Stenberg, and more share their stories below.
In honor of Pride Month - including this weekend’s New York City Pride Parade - we’ve gathered thoughts from famous women on how and why they chose to come out, and their lives since. Nevertheless, queer women remain strong and visible, with many celebrities using their platforms to advance LGBTQ rights and ensure that all love is treated with respect. Though the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states in 2015 - a landmark ruling that many considered to be monumental step for the gay-rights movement - recent political events including the “ gay wedding cake case” have left members of the LGBTQ community fearful for their status in today’s America.