--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where I come from, if you weren't a drag…" description: "\"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 weirdo.\" — iO Tillett Wright" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg" --- # Where I come from, if you weren't a drag queen or a… ![“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 weirdo.” quote by iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg) > “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 weirdo.” [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. Being outside mainstream labels makes you an outsider, but also a unique individual. **In simple terms:** Nonconformists are labeled odd. Key Takeaway Embrace your uniqueness. Themes identity nonconformity creativity Mood reflective defiant Type inspirational social commentary When to use this quote - artistic communities - LGBTQ+ spaces - college campuses - online forums Key Concepts social norms self-acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect self-worth? - Can you turn being an outsider into strength? A Different Perspective Labels can limit opportunities and acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Drag queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drag-queen/) [Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queen/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Weirdo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weirdo/) ## Related quotes > [I don't consider myself to be that radical a thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-don-t-consider-myself-to-be-that-radical-a-thinker/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I suppose I do think I go out of my way to be a very normal person, and I just find it frustrating that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/i-suppose-i-do-think-i-go-out-of-my-way-to-be-a-very-normal-person/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I've always been a bit of an outsider... I just pop up, kind of. I have a life. I have children - I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-walker/i-ve-always-been-a-bit-of-an-outsider-i-just-pop-up-kind-of-i-have-a/) [Ally Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-walker/) > [I'm kind of a weirdo; I love prison movies and war movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-chenoweth/i-m-kind-of-a-weirdo-i-love-prison-movies-and-war-movies/) [Kristin Chenoweth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-chenoweth/) > [Some kids think I'm some kind of weirdo. I probably am weirder than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-naroditsky/some-kids-think-i-m-some-kind-of-weirdo-i-probably-am-weirder-than/) [Daniel Naroditsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-naroditsky/) > [I'm kind of a weirdo about Krazy Glue. I don't know why, but I always have it in my purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-sher/i-m-kind-of-a-weirdo-about-krazy-glue-i-don-t-know-why-but-i-always/) [Eden Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-sher/) > [People who grew up in New York City or Los Angeles tend not to even understand what goes on in the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/people-who-grew-up-in-new-york-city-or-los-angeles-tend-not-to-even/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [I like to think of myself as a pure rebel; A radical thinker on a musical level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-nice/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-a-pure-rebel-a-radical-thinker-on-a/) D-Nice > [“What kind of weirdo makes cheese? It's too hard to imagine, too homespun, too something. We're so alienated from the creation of even ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/what-kind-of-weirdo-makes-cheese-it-s-too-hard-to-imagine-too/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If you were supposed to be a drag queen, and that's what you wanted to do, you'd be doing it already, you wouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/if-you-were-supposed-to-be-a-drag-queen-and-that-s-what-you-wanted-to/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [Don't take life too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/don-t-take-life-too-seriously/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [“If there’s one thing you learn from me, after hearing about just under one year of my life can it be that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-seeley/if-there-s-one-thing-you-learn-from-me-after-hearing-about-just-under/) R.J. Seeley > [Saying you'd make a hideous drag queen was intended to be a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/saying-you-d-make-a-hideous-drag-queen-was-intended-to-be-a-compliment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started drag in Portland, Oregon, but I don't feel that I came to life as a drag queen until I started working in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinkx-monsoon/i-started-drag-in-portland-oregon-but-i-don-t-feel-that-i-came-to/) [Jinkx Monsoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinkx-monsoon/) > [If I was a man, I would be a drag queen. Honestly, I would. I absolutely love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/if-i-was-a-man-i-would-be-a-drag-queen-honestly-i-would-i-absolutely/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/it-s-illegal-to-be-gay-in-little-rock-this-is-such-a-reality-for-so/) [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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 weirdo.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "iO Tillett Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag-queen-or-a-radical-thinker-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag-queen-or-a-radical-thinker-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/io-tillett-wright-42707_art_where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag_956506.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where I come from, if you weren't a drag queen or a radical thinker or a performance artist of some kind…” — 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": "Where I come from, if you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag-queen-or-a-radical-thinker-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/where-i-come-from-if-you-weren-t-a-drag-queen-or-a-radical-thinker-or/#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 } } ] } ```