--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"Liberating\" is a gay word, so let's…" description: "\"\"Liberating\" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be good friends with myself, so nothing anyone ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg" --- # "Liberating" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I… ![“"Liberating" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be good friends with myself, so nothing anyone says that's truthful about me ever bothers me.” quote by Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg) > “"Liberating" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be good friends with myself, so nothing anyone says that's truthful about me ever bothers me.” [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self-knowledge shields you from external judgments; confidence in self reduces impact of others' opinions. **In simple terms:** Knowing yourself protects against criticism. Key Takeaway Cultivate self-awareness to stay unaffected. Themes self-esteem identity resilience Mood reflective confident Type advice motivational When to use this quote - social media - workplace feedback - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts psychology philosophy self-acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself are you truly open to critique? - How can you balance self-confidence with humility? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may blind you to growth; external feedback can be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Good friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friend/) [Good friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friends/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truthful/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always surprised to hear or read my work described, "In angry tones, she says." No! In truthful tones! Does truth have a tone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-m-always-surprised-to-hear-or-read-my-work-described-in-angry-tones/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Penicillin was as liberating for gay sex as the pill had been for straight sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bram/penicillin-was-as-liberating-for-gay-sex-as-the-pill-had-been-for/) [Christopher Bram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bram/) > [“New York may be splendidly gay or squalidly gay but prince or pauper, it's gay always...Yes, gay is the word...but frantic. I can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/new-york-may-be-splendidly-gay-or-squalidly-gay-but-prince-or-pauper/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [I just didn't like the word 'gay.' I still don't like it. It's a dumb way of describing sexuality. I like 'queer' or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-feinstein/i-just-didn-t-like-the-word-gay-i-still-don-t-like-it-it-s-a-dumb-way/) [Michael Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-feinstein/) > [Theatre is liberating because it only works if it's truthful - that's what it requires. That's not true of film: the camera does lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mccrory/theatre-is-liberating-because-it-only-works-if-it-s-truthful-that-s/) [Helen McCrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mccrory/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [My guess is that liberating the fossil fuel industry to frack anywhere they want will drive down the rate at which we're converting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/my-guess-is-that-liberating-the-fossil-fuel-industry-to-frack/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [For all the claims one hears about the liberating impact of the data-net, the truth is that it's wished on most of us a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/for-all-the-claims-one-hears-about-the-liberating-impact-of-the-data/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“After tough workouts where we pushed ourselves to the limit over and over, it was liberating to be rid of any apprehension about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-johnson-foreword-feed-zone-portables/after-tough-workouts-where-we-pushed-ourselves-to-the-limit-over-and/) Tim Johnson Foreword- Feed Zone Portables > [“There’s something about being by the ocean that is so liberating. It cleanses your mind and breathes life back into parts of you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacey-london/there-s-something-about-being-by-the-ocean-that-is-so-liberating-it/) [Lacey London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lacey-london/) > [I found it liberating to sing on camera. On stage, you have to indicate having a thought, and the word you are singing must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/i-found-it-liberating-to-sing-on-camera-on-stage-you-have-to-indicate/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Being a geek is extremely liberating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/being-a-geek-is-extremely-liberating/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) ## More by Jim Goad > [Homosexuality is genetically hardwired but race and gender are only ideas. OK. Just trying to keep up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/homosexuality-is-genetically-hardwired-but-race-and-gender-are-only/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [To think that humans evolved from lower species BUT the evolutionary process somehow came to a halt and we all arrived at the finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/to-think-that-humans-evolved-from-lower-species-but-the-evolutionary/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The vegan diet is obviously lacking whatever essential nutrient it is that makes people likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-vegan-diet-is-obviously-lacking-whatever-essential-nutrient-it-is/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The leftist drive for control is insatiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-leftist-drive-for-control-is-insatiable/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Hatespeak is usually more honest than lovespeak, and it's always better than doublespeak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/hatespeak-is-usually-more-honest-than-lovespeak-and-it-s-always/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [What you accomplish in life is limited only by your imagination and the fear of reprisal. Life is too fleeting and unrewarding to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/what-you-accomplish-in-life-is-limited-only-by-your-imagination-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I could have completely lost my mind or became a junkie or abandoned all sense and judgment and committed some rash, stupid act that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-could-have-completely-lost-my-mind-or-became-a-junkie-or-abandoned/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [the fact that they stole their whole shtick from Woody Guthrie and the coal-mining bards. While the alternative nation meows about personal fashion angst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-fact-that-they-stole-their-whole-shtick-from-woody-guthrie-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Though your major media kept smacking me upside the head with the word "multicultural," you goddamned Australians are the most racist bunch of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/though-your-major-media-kept-smacking-me-upside-the-head-with-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The criticism that has most consistently bothered me is the allegation that I'm a schlockmeister whose only objective is to shock people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-criticism-that-has-most-consistently-bothered-me-is-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I don't regret any of my transgressions, because I believe I paid for them a million times over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-don-t-regret-any-of-my-transgressions-because-i-believe-i-paid-for/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [My hatred is diamond-hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/my-hatred-is-diamond-hard/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I think that 99% of the snipers who take shots at me from electronic foxholes also realize they could never withstand the sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-99-of-the-snipers-who-take-shots-at-me-from-electronic/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Nowadays, you suffer the same risks - ostracism, career loss, possible assault - for being perceived as racist that you would have encountered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/nowadays-you-suffer-the-same-risks-ostracism-career-loss-possible/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) [Explore all 104 Jim Goad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [There's such cultural rot taking place, such a disintegration throughout our culture. Values, morality, you name it. Standards have been relaxed, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-s-such-cultural-rot-taking-place-such-a-disintegration/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The difference in being good at some thing and being great at something is usually found in the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-anderson/the-difference-in-being-good-at-some-thing-and-being-great-at/) Randy Anderson > [It doesn't matter if your lead character is good or bad. He just has to be interesting, and he has to be good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chase/it-doesn-t-matter-if-your-lead-character-is-good-or-bad-he-just-has/) [David Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chase/) > [What's good for the very rich might not be good for anybody but them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/what-s-good-for-the-very-rich-might-not-be-good-for-anybody-but-them/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“Living in the middle of beauty like this, we've no call to have puny ideas about God. Why do you suppose His world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/living-in-the-middle-of-beauty-like-this-we-ve-no-call-to-have-puny/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) Browse all 1,747 Be good quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"Liberating\" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be good friends with myself, so nothing anyone says that's truthful about me ever bothers me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Goad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase-it-this-way-i-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase-it-this-way-i-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/jim-goad-4989_be-good_liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase_1872343.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“\"Liberating\" is a gay word, so let's phrase it this way: I know everything about me and still manage to be…” — Jim Goad", "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": "Jim Goad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "\"Liberating\" is a gay word, so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase-it-this-way-i-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/liberating-is-a-gay-word-so-let-s-phrase-it-this-way-i-know/#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 } } ] } ```