--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock…" description: "\"It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these bubbles of New York or L.A. or Boulder,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg" --- # It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a… ![“It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these bubbles of New York or L.A. or Boulder, Colorado, they forget.” quote by iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg) > “It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these bubbles of New York or L.A. or Boulder, Colorado, they forget.” [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal oppression in some places is ignored by those in liberal enclaves, creating blind spots. **In simple terms:** Privilege blinds awareness of oppression. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and act on broader injustices. Themes justice privilege awareness Mood empathetic urgent Type activist social When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - community outreach Key Concepts social inequality intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How can allies move from awareness to action? - What policies address systemic discrimination? A Different Perspective Awareness alone doesn’t change systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colorado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colorado/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock/) ## Related quotes > [“A nation forgetting its own laughter is in a sad state of affairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-marie-gallagher/a-nation-forgetting-its-own-laughter-is-in-a-sad-state-of-affairs/) Sherry Marie Gallagher > [I am really blessed and fortunate to be on 'NCIS.' I really enjoy it, and I really enjoy the cast and all my friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dietzen/i-am-really-blessed-and-fortunate-to-be-on-ncis-i-really-enjoy-it-and/) [Brian Dietzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dietzen/) > [In my native Boulder County, Colorado, the fracking fanatics are out in force. They are marching door-to-door, petitions and mythology in hand, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/in-my-native-boulder-county-colorado-the-fracking-fanatics-are-out-in/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [Right after college, a buddy of mine was moving to Boulder for some summer program, and he was like, 'Come live with me.' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-besser/right-after-college-a-buddy-of-mine-was-moving-to-boulder-for-some/) [Matt Besser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-besser/) > [I have no idea how it got so big. I was just trying to find something to do while I was living in Boulder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meyer/i-have-no-idea-how-it-got-so-big-i-was-just-trying-to-find-something/) [George Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meyer/) > [Brussels is a gay little city that lies as bright within its girdle of woodland as any butterfly that rests upon moss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/brussels-is-a-gay-little-city-that-lies-as-bright-within-its-girdle/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [You can't just put gay in a little gay box anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-patrick-harris/you-can-t-just-put-gay-in-a-little-gay-box-anymore/) [Neil Patrick Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-patrick-harris/) > [I'm Southern, I'm gay, I'm little - I get Ma'am'd a lot on the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jordan/i-m-southern-i-m-gay-i-m-little-i-get-ma-am-d-a-lot-on-the-phone/) [Leslie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jordan/) > [As a gay man, there are certain places that I avoid. When I go to China, I lie and pretend I'm not married, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-france/as-a-gay-man-there-are-certain-places-that-i-avoid-when-i-go-to-china/) [Tan France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-france/) > [It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-is-a-violation-of-human-rights-when-governments-declare-it-illegal/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I was a shy gay man at a time when it was illegal to be gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/i-was-a-shy-gay-man-at-a-time-when-it-was-illegal-to-be-gay/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [It's not so easy to be gay or even a woman in some places in the world, and in many countries, it's illegal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-baker/it-s-not-so-easy-to-be-gay-or-even-a-woman-in-some-places-in-the/) [Gilbert Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-baker/) > [“It’s already midmorning, and we’ve got beasts to outrun, holes to avoid, and whopper spiders to squish before we make it back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-frazier/it-s-already-midmorning-and-we-ve-got-beasts-to-outrun-holes-to-avoid/) [Angie Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-frazier/) > [The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/the-toughest-trail-i-ever-ran-was-the-escarpment-in-the-catskills-of/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) ## More by iO Tillett Wright > [At sleepovers I would have panic attacks trying to break it to girls that they didn't want to kiss me without outing myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/at-sleepovers-i-would-have-panic-attacks-trying-to-break-it-to-girls/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [Along with racial equality and the late bloom of women's rights, future generations will have to explain how, in the past, gays were misunderstood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/along-with-racial-equality-and-the-late-bloom-of-women-s-rights/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [For me, photography is not just about exposing film, it's about exposing the viewer to something new, a place they haven't gone before, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/for-me-photography-is-not-just-about-exposing-film-it-s-about/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [Where I come from, if you weren't a drag queen or a radical thinker or a performance artist of some kind, you were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag-queen-or-a-radical-thinker-or/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [I was part of a show called 'Manifest Equality' in Los Angeles in 2010, and I realized there was a disconnect between people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/i-was-part-of-a-show-called-manifest-equality-in-los-angeles-in-2010/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [All I'm ever looking for in my work in general is honesty and truth and people being real to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/all-i-m-ever-looking-for-in-my-work-in-general-is-honesty-and-truth/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [I was born and raised in Manhattan; I didn't realize that I, in all my androgyny, was a freak to the rest of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/i-was-born-and-raised-in-manhattan-i-didn-t-realize-that-i-in-all-my/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [“Familiarity is the gateway drug to empathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/familiarity-is-the-gateway-drug-to-empathy/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [We are neurologically hardwired to seek out people like ourselves. We start forming cliques as soon as we're old enough to know what acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/we-are-neurologically-hardwired-to-seek-out-people-like-ourselves-we/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) [Explore all 10 iO Tillett Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) ## More Boulder quotes > [The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/the-toughest-trail-i-ever-ran-was-the-escarpment-in-the-catskills-of/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [“It’s already midmorning, and we’ve got beasts to outrun, holes to avoid, and whopper spiders to squish before we make it back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-frazier/it-s-already-midmorning-and-we-ve-got-beasts-to-outrun-holes-to-avoid/) [Angie Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-frazier/) > [In my native Boulder County, Colorado, the fracking fanatics are out in force. They are marching door-to-door, petitions and mythology in hand, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/in-my-native-boulder-county-colorado-the-fracking-fanatics-are-out-in/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [When my family forbade me from entering the theatre, I would lie on a boulder outside and listen to the dialogues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuthirakani/when-my-family-forbade-me-from-entering-the-theatre-i-would-lie-on-a/) [Samuthirakani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuthirakani/) > [“The boulder they had been standing on wasn’t a boulder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/the-boulder-they-had-been-standing-on-wasn-t-a-boulder/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [My view was, if I didn't like Boulder, I'd keep going west, except I never really wanted to live in the Bay Area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-feld/my-view-was-if-i-didn-t-like-boulder-i-d-keep-going-west-except-i/) [Brad Feld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-feld/) > [Right after college, a buddy of mine was moving to Boulder for some summer program, and he was like, 'Come live with me.' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-besser/right-after-college-a-buddy-of-mine-was-moving-to-boulder-for-some/) [Matt Besser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-besser/) > [I discovered Boulder not through cycling but skiing. I was recruited by the university for the ski team, and in my opinion, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/i-discovered-boulder-not-through-cycling-but-skiing-i-was-recruited/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) > [“I also have no problem if you want to find a cave and have someone roll a boulder in front of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/i-also-have-no-problem-if-you-want-to-find-a-cave-and-have-someone/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [My district is centered around the progressive college town of Boulder, Colorado, and the high-tech U.S. 36 corridor. It goes from the well-established suburbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/my-district-is-centered-around-the-progressive-college-town-of/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [Boulder was my U.S. base for the better part of 20 years, and it will always have a special place in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/boulder-was-my-u-s-base-for-the-better-part-of-20-years-and-it-will/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) > [“A nation forgetting its own laughter is in a sad state of affairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-marie-gallagher/a-nation-forgetting-its-own-laughter-is-in-a-sad-state-of-affairs/) Sherry Marie Gallagher > [In Boulder entrepreneurship circles, there is a genuine desire to see others succeed and a general belief that karma matters. There's a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cohen/in-boulder-entrepreneurship-circles-there-is-a-genuine-desire-to-see/) [David Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cohen/) > [I have no idea how it got so big. I was just trying to find something to do while I was living in Boulder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meyer/i-have-no-idea-how-it-got-so-big-i-was-just-trying-to-find-something/) [George Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meyer/) Browse all 41 Boulder quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these bubbles of New York or L.A. or Boulder, Colorado, they forget.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "iO Tillett Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-this-is-such-a-reality-for-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boulder" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-this-is-such-a-reality-for-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/io-tillett-wright-42707_boulder_it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-th_2800087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to…” — iO Tillett Wright", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "iO Tillett Wright", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's illegal to be gay in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-this-is-such-a-reality-for-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-this-is-such-a-reality-for-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```