--- title: "9 Gays Quotes By Edmund White" description: "9 Gays quotes by Edmund White. Plus more from Edmund White and more Gays sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/edmund-white-2376_another_originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimila_429754.png" --- > [Originally I was opposed to gay assimilation and targeted gay marriage as just another effort on the part of gays to resemble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimilation-and-targeted-gay/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/edmund-white-2376_another_originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimila_429754.png) > [I was never an assimilationist. I always thought gays had some special mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-was-never-an-assimilationist-i-always-thought-gays-had-some-special/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/edmund-white-2376_always_i-was-never-an-assimilationist-i-always_1976274.png) > [AIDS had won gays sympathy; they no longer seemed the privileged brats that the general populace had resented in the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/aids-had-won-gays-sympathy-they-no-longer-seemed-the-privileged-brats/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/edmund-white-2376_1970s_aids-had-won-gays-sympathy-they-no-longe_2876281.png) > [Early on, after gay liberation, there was an almost Stalinist pressure from gay critics and even gay readers to write about positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/early-on-after-gay-liberation-there-was-an-almost-stalinist-pressure/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/edmund-white-2376_about_early-on-after-gay-liberation-there-was_746708.png) > [If bigots oppose gay marriage so vehemently, it must be because marriage is a defining institution for them; gays will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/if-bigots-oppose-gay-marriage-so-vehemently-it-must-be-because/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e5/edmund-white-2376_accepted_if-bigots-oppose-gay-marriage-so-vehemen_2720919.png) > [First, I was opposed to gay marriage because it seemed like one more way that gays were wanting to assimilate. When I…](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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/edmund-white-2376_a-good-thing_first-i-was-opposed-to-gay-marriage-beca_98914.png) > [I do probably come down a little hard on a group of people I call the 'blue chip gays.' I mean people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-do-probably-come-down-a-little-hard-on-a-group-of-people-i-call-the/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b2/edmund-white-2376_become_i-do-probably-come-down-a-little-hard-on_2454733.jpg) > [The Stonewall riots were a key moment for gay people. Throughout modern history, gays had thought of themselves as something like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-stonewall-riots-were-a-key-moment-for-gay-people-throughout/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d57/edmund-white-2376_allowed_the-stonewall-riots-were-a-key-moment-fo_1121815.png) > [Originally, I was against gay marriage because I was opposed to all marriage, being an old-fashioned gay bohemian. The straight people I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/originally-i-was-against-gay-marriage-because-i-was-opposed-to-all/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/edmund-white-2376_against_originally-i-was-against-gay-marriage-be_265564.jpg) ## Other authors on Gays - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-ann-coulter-13539.jpg) Ann Coulter 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gays/ann-coulter/) ## 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/gays/edmund-white/#itemlist", "name": "9 Gays Quotes By Edmund White", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Originally I was opposed to gay assimilation and targeted gay marriage as just another effort on the part of gays to resemble their straight neighbours.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund White" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimilation-and-targeted-gay/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/edmund-white-2376_another_originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimila_429754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/edmund-white-2376_another_originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimila_429754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/edmund-white-2376_another_originally-i-was-opposed-to-gay-assimila_429754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Originally I was opposed to gay assimilation and targeted gay marriage as just another effort on the part of…” — Edmund White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was never an assimilationist. 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