---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my experience, desire is desire, love…"
description: "\"“In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender.I have fallen for individuals. I know this is hard for peo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/david-levithan-67_desire_in-my-experience-desire-is-desire-love-i_758273.jpg"
---

#  In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have…

![“In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender.I have fallen for individuals. I know this is hard for people to do, but I don't understand why it's so hard, when it's so obvious.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/david-levithan-67_desire_in-my-experience-desire-is-desire-love-i_758273.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/david-levithan-67_desire_in-my-experience-desire-is-desire-love-i_758273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/david-levithan-67_desire_in-my-experience-desire-is-desire-love-i_758273.jpg)

> ““In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender.I have fallen for individuals. I know this is hard for people to do, but I don't understand why it's so hard, when it's so obvious.””

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker distinguishes desire from love, emphasizing personal connection over gender, and questions societal difficulty accepting this view.

**In simple terms:** Love is about people, not gender.

Key Takeaway

Focus on individual connections.

Themes

identity love gender societal norms

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- dating
- friendships
- L discussions
- personal growth

Key Concepts

personal connection sexual orientation acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we shift cultural narratives to prioritize individual connection?
- What barriers prevent people from seeing love beyond gender?

A Different Perspective

Societal expectations often pressure people to categorize love by gender.

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> [I truly believe that love is love and gender is immaterial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lancashire/i-truly-believe-that-love-is-love-and-gender-is-immaterial/)

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> [“In order to acheive you must dream, to dream you must desire, to desire you must love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gordon/in-order-to-acheive-you-must-dream-to-dream-you-must-desire-to-desire/)

[Robert Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gordon/)

> [It is not merely our own desire but the desire of Christ in His Spirit that drives us to grow in love. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-not-merely-our-own-desire-but-the-desire-of-christ-in-his/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“Desire, Desire, Desire! Desire to love, Desire to live, Desire to learn, Desire to dream, Desire to give, Desire to forgive, Desire to grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/desire-desire-desire-desire-to-love-desire-to-live-desire-to-learn/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“Desire and love act at cross purposes. love is a net cast on eternity, desire is a stratagem to be spared the chores of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/desire-and-love-act-at-cross-purposes-love-is-a-net-cast-on-eternity/)

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> [Where such men love they have no desire and where they desire they cannot love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/where-such-men-love-they-have-no-desire-and-where-they-desire-they/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“where they love they do not desire and where they desire they cannot love” (p. 183).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-fink/where-they-love-they-do-not-desire-and-where-they-desire-they-cannot/)

[Bruce Fink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-fink/)

> [Where they love they do not desire and where they desire they do not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/where-they-love-they-do-not-desire-and-where-they-desire-they-do-not/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“Desire, Desire, Desire!!! Desire to love. Desire to seek. Desire to ask.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/desire-desire-desire-desire-to-love-desire-to-seek-desire-to-ask/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [Marriage is about love not gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-is-about-love-not-gender/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by David Levithan

> [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/)

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> [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/)

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> [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/)

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> [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/)

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> [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/)

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> [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/)

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[Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## More Desire quotes

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[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/)

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