--- title: "4 Gay men Quotes By Edmund White" description: "4 Gay men quotes by Edmund White. Plus more from Edmund White and more Gay men sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/edmund-white-2376_come_paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have_1163655.png" --- > [Paradoxically, since gay men rarely have gay parents, cultural transmission must come from friends or strangers (a problem since the generations so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have-gay-parents-cultural/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/edmund-white-2376_come_paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have_1163655.png) > [Women and gay men have something in common after all: in that they are trying to deal with this goofy egotistical monster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-common-after-all-in-that-they-are/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/edmund-white-2376_after_women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-comm_1370106.png) > [In a novel, I think you have a contract with the reader to make the character representative - of a moment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-with-the-reader-to-make-the/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/edmund-white-2376_books_in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-w_1485625.jpg) > [“It was a grungy, dangerous, bankrupt city without normal services most of the time. The garbage piled up and stank during long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/it-was-a-grungy-dangerous-bankrupt-city-without-normal-services-most/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/edmund-white-2376_1970s_it-was-a-grungy-dangerous-bankrupt-city_1964306.jpg) ## Other authors on Gay men - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-camille-paglia-20735.jpg) Camille Paglia 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-men/camille-paglia/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-madonna-ciccone-62567.jpg) Madonna Ciccone 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-men/madonna-ciccone/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-audre-lorde-15604.jpg) Audre Lorde 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-men/audre-lorde/) ## More by Edmund White > [The talk shows in the States want celebrities, not authors. In France, it is different; writers are called upon to comment on everything. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-talk-shows-in-the-states-want-celebrities-not-authors-in-france/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [In 'A Boy's Own Story' and 'Jack Holmes and His Friend,' my idea was to take someone totally different from my real self and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-a-boy-s-own-story-and-jack-holmes-and-his-friend-my-idea-was-to/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Everyone seems agreed that writing about sex is perilous, partly because it threatens to swamp highly individualised characters in a generic, featureless activity (much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/everyone-seems-agreed-that-writing-about-sex-is-perilous-partly/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > ['The Sound of Things Falling' may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Even in translation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-sound-of-things-falling-may-be-a-page-turner-but-it-s-also-a-deep/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [If you're a beach person or a golfer, Key West is not for you. Most of the sand has been imported, and the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/if-you-re-a-beach-person-or-a-golfer-key-west-is-not-for-you-most-of/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [First, I was opposed to gay marriage because it seemed like one more way that gays were wanting to assimilate. When I realized the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/first-i-was-opposed-to-gay-marriage-because-it-seemed-like-one-more/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [From my mother I learned just how violent and unquenchable a woman's loneliness can be. She had been sheltered excessively by her husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-my-mother-i-learned-just-how-violent-and-unquenchable-a-woman-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [From an early age, I had the idea that writing was truth-telling. It's on the record. Everybody can see it. Maybe it goes back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-an-early-age-i-had-the-idea-that-writing-was-truth-telling-it-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Since, in the best Southern tradition, I was named Edmund Valentine White III, sometimes when people look up my books on Amazon they find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/since-in-the-best-southern-tradition-i-was-named-edmund-valentine/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When I was young, I despised old people. I was provincial and narrow-minded. It's the reason I stayed stupid so long. If you only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/when-i-was-young-i-despised-old-people-i-was-provincial-and-narrow/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Key West is the place where your sickly house plant back in New York grows to 10 ft. It's also the place where an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/key-west-is-the-place-where-your-sickly-house-plant-back-in-new-york/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“In the past, when gays were very flamboyant as drag queens or as leather queens or whatever, that just amused people. And most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-the-past-when-gays-were-very-flamboyant-as-drag-queens-or-as/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When a woman falls in love with me, I feel guilty. I am convinced that it's pure obstinacy that keeps me from reciprocating her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/when-a-woman-falls-in-love-with-me-i-feel-guilty-i-am-convinced-that/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [While writing 'City Boy,' I relied mainly on my own memories. In particular, I was able to describe the effect of gay liberation on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/while-writing-city-boy-i-relied-mainly-on-my-own-memories-in/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-men/edmund-white/#itemlist", "name": "4 Gay men Quotes By Edmund White", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Paradoxically, since gay men rarely have gay parents, cultural transmission must come from friends or strangers (a problem since the generations so seldom mix in gay life).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund White" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have-gay-parents-cultural/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/edmund-white-2376_come_paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have_1163655.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/edmund-white-2376_come_paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have_1163655.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/edmund-white-2376_come_paradoxically-since-gay-men-rarely-have_1163655.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Paradoxically, since gay men rarely have gay parents, cultural transmission must come from friends or…” — Edmund White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Women and gay men have something in common after all: in that they are trying to deal with this goofy egotistical monster called a man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund White" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-common-after-all-in-that-they-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/edmund-white-2376_after_women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-comm_1370106.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/edmund-white-2376_after_women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-comm_1370106.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/edmund-white-2376_after_women-and-gay-men-have-something-in-comm_1370106.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Women and gay men have something in common after all: in that they are trying to deal with this goofy…” — Edmund White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a novel, I think you have a contract with the reader to make the character representative - of a moment in history, a social class... for instance, I wanted to make the boy in 'A Boy's Own Story' more like other gay men of my generation in their youth and not like me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund White" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-with-the-reader-to-make-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/edmund-white-2376_books_in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-w_1485625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/edmund-white-2376_books_in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-w_1485625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/edmund-white-2376_books_in-a-novel-i-think-you-have-a-contract-w_1485625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a novel, I think you have a contract with the reader to make the character representative - of a moment…” — Edmund White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was a grungy, dangerous, bankrupt city without normal services most of the time. 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