--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As more queer people find more mainstream…" description: "\"As more queer people find more mainstream success, I'm uneasy about it. I'm hesitant to celebrate, because I guess I'm cynical, because it seems like a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/cole-escola-6042_celebrate_as-more-queer-people-find-more-mainstrea_2400903.jpg" --- # As more queer people find more mainstream success, I'm… ![“As more queer people find more mainstream success, I'm uneasy about it. I'm hesitant to celebrate, because I guess I'm cynical, because it seems like all it really means is that people with power think they can make money off of us or we can make them look good... But I know that purity isn't…” quote by Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/cole-escola-6042_celebrate_as-more-queer-people-find-more-mainstrea_2400903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/cole-escola-6042_celebrate_as-more-queer-people-find-more-mainstrea_2400903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/cole-escola-6042_celebrate_as-more-queer-people-find-more-mainstrea_2400903.jpg) > “As more queer people find more mainstream success, I'm uneasy about it. I'm hesitant to celebrate, because I guess I'm cynical, because it seems like all it really means is that people with power think they can make money off of us or we can make them look good... But I know that purity isn't possible.” [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Queer success in mainstream media can feel exploitative, yet purity is unattainable; progress is messy. **In simple terms:** Success can feel like exploitation. Key Takeaway Celebrate progress while staying critical. Themes LGBTQ+ media authenticity Mood cautious hopeful Type social personal When to use this quote - activism - media analysis - community building - personal identity Key Concepts social dynamics capitalism purity myth representation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance celebration and critique? - What does authenticity mean to you? A Different Perspective Commercial motives may dilute genuine representation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celebrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrate/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Hesitant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesitant/) [Hesitant Celebrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesitant-celebrate-6012250/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Queer People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queer-people-540926/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-uneasy-6012251/) [Uneasy Hesitant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy-hesitant-6012252/) ## Related quotes > [We need to talk about representation for queer people in the media and also in law. And there's a long history of drag queens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/we-need-to-talk-about-representation-for-queer-people-in-the-media/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [So many queer people come out constantly for the rest of their lives, ya know? To the people they work with, to people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/so-many-queer-people-come-out-constantly-for-the-rest-of-their-lives/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [I hope people realize that drag queens and queer people, we're not just archetypes and stereotypes. We're human beings with a lot to share.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinkx-monsoon/i-hope-people-realize-that-drag-queens-and-queer-people-we-re-not/) [Jinkx Monsoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinkx-monsoon/) > [I think that's the place ideally we'd like to get to as well, as queer people, where you can just judge the music for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-princess/i-think-that-s-the-place-ideally-we-d-like-to-get-to-as-well-as-queer/) [King Princess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-princess/) > [I take it hard whenever anything happens that makes, I guess, queer people feel less safe and less welcome in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-take-it-hard-whenever-anything-happens-that-makes-i-guess-queer/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [Taking care of your mental health is important, and being able to model that for queer people who are out there every day dealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/taking-care-of-your-mental-health-is-important-and-being-able-to/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [We are traumatized by growing up in a world that doesn't really accept us. Obviously, we've made great leaps and bounds, but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/we-are-traumatized-by-growing-up-in-a-world-that-doesn-t-really/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [To see queer people keeping each other down makes me so sad because I've been around for a long time - I've seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-visage/to-see-queer-people-keeping-each-other-down-makes-me-so-sad-because-i/) [Michelle Visage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-visage/) > [I do my best to surround myself with queer people. I don't go to straight bars and it's quite frankly because I don't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-the-drag-queen/i-do-my-best-to-surround-myself-with-queer-people-i-don-t-go-to/) [Bob the Drag Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-the-drag-queen/) > [We need a lot more visibility of queer people in public life. People gotta get used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/we-need-a-lot-more-visibility-of-queer-people-in-public-life-people/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [You know, being an 'other' in this world, you're walking around in a horror movie at all times, you're always on edge and wondering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/you-know-being-an-other-in-this-world-you-re-walking-around-in-a/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [“Queer people have had to actively make their culture and community and institutions, because the non-queer world is not going to do it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-liss/queer-people-have-had-to-actively-make-their-culture-and-community/) [Sarah Liss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-liss/) > [No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only queer people are those who don't love anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/no-government-has-the-right-to-tell-its-citizens-when-or-whom-to-love/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [All my friends were doing just dumb stuff that kids do, like making out with people at parties and starting to date... I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troye-sivan/all-my-friends-were-doing-just-dumb-stuff-that-kids-do-like-making/) [Troye Sivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troye-sivan/) > [Historically, our culture has not made room for the nuances of humanity. People have not been kept safe: women, people of colour, queer people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indya-moore/historically-our-culture-has-not-made-room-for-the-nuances-of/) [Indya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indya-moore/) ## More by Cole Escola > [I would love to write something that I'm not in and just be in a rehearsal room as a writer. But I love theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-would-love-to-write-something-that-i-m-not-in-and-just-be-in-a/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I grew up in Oregon. I have a younger brother and an older sister. We were very poor. VERY POOR. We lived in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-grew-up-in-oregon-i-have-a-younger-brother-and-an-older-sister-we/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I tend to be very pessimistic and not let myself enjoy things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-tend-to-be-very-pessimistic-and-not-let-myself-enjoy-things/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I grew up in a trailer until I was 5 or 6, and then my dad chased us out with a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-grew-up-in-a-trailer-until-i-was-5-or-6-and-then-my-dad-chased-us/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I do have that secret desire to be a cabaret star and just sing Cole Porter medleys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-do-have-that-secret-desire-to-be-a-cabaret-star-and-just-sing-cole/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I just wanted to make the stupidest, funniest thing possible. My version of Mary Todd Lincoln is basically just me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-just-wanted-to-make-the-stupidest-funniest-thing-possible-my/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [The first Broadway show that I ever saw was 'Kiss Me, Kate.' I was in New York, on a school trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/the-first-broadway-show-that-i-ever-saw-was-kiss-me-kate-i-was-in-new/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [There's something so embarrassing about doing characters and talking about it. It's humiliating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/there-s-something-so-embarrassing-about-doing-characters-and-talking/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [It's embarrassing to be ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/it-s-embarrassing-to-be-ambitious/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I went to school at Marymount Manhattan College for a year, and then I dropped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-went-to-school-at-marymount-manhattan-college-for-a-year-and-then-i/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I like playing extremes. I don't really know how to not be a 10.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-like-playing-extremes-i-don-t-really-know-how-to-not-be-a-10/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I don't understand relationships. I feel like I'm pretending when I'm in one. Like, 'Oh yeah, I love eating with my left hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-don-t-understand-relationships-i-feel-like-i-m-pretending-when-i-m/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I used to run home after the pool closed in the summer to watch 'Newhart.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-used-to-run-home-after-the-pool-closed-in-the-summer-to-watch/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [Dirk Bogarde was very handsome, very hot, and a brilliant actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/dirk-bogarde-was-very-handsome-very-hot-and-a-brilliant-actor/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I mean, I don't like horror movies. I just don't like being scared for the sake of being scared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-mean-i-don-t-like-horror-movies-i-just-don-t-like-being-scared-for/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) [Explore all 100 Cole Escola quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) ## More Celebrate quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Trying to find this industry's tendency to celebrate the physical is a waste of time. So I'm happy to play the game. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/trying-to-find-this-industry-s-tendency-to-celebrate-the-physical-is/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [On Valentine's Day, couples in Calgary can celebrate their love for each other with couples' nude yoga - great way to get in shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sagal/on-valentine-s-day-couples-in-calgary-can-celebrate-their-love-for/) [Peter Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sagal/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [No matter what day we celebrate Australia Day, let's celebrate it together and give thanks to the original inhabitants of this vast country. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/no-matter-what-day-we-celebrate-australia-day-let-s-celebrate-it/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Birth, life, death is a cycle. And they're all beautiful, you celebrate all of them. Animals do grieve, but they move on. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/birth-life-death-is-a-cycle-and-they-re-all-beautiful-you-celebrate/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [I just wanted to jump into the stands and start celebrating with those wonderful fans. (on reaching the Champions League final)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gerrard/i-just-wanted-to-jump-into-the-stands-and-start-celebrating-with/) [Steven Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gerrard/) > [What I have found is, so much of that is like a Chinese finger trap: the more you play to the dark, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/what-i-have-found-is-so-much-of-that-is-like-a-chinese-finger-trap/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/while-we-celebrate-our-diversity-what-surprises-me-time-and-time/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [I feel like the downfall of any person is the second an artist starts celebrating their work themselves, that becomes problematic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/i-feel-like-the-downfall-of-any-person-is-the-second-an-artist-starts/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) [Browse all 2,313 Celebrate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As more queer people find more mainstream success, I'm uneasy about it. 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