---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The closet exists because people don't…"
description: "\"The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so that people going into political careers make a calculation early on. They say to themselves, ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg"
---

#  The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so…

![“The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so that people going into political careers make a calculation early on. They say to themselves, &quot;well, the closet is under the radar, I can do this.&quot;” quote by Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg)

> “The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so that people going into political careers make a calculation early on. They say to themselves, "well, the closet is under the radar, I can do this."”

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

## About This Quote

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

People hide their true selves to advance politically, assuming secrecy protects them, but it creates hidden risks.

**In simple terms:** Concealing identity can be a career strategy.

Key Takeaway

Be authentic despite career pressures.

Themes

politics identity secrecy career

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

analytical motivational

When to use this quote

- political campaigns
- workplace culture
- personal branding

Key Concepts

psychology of self-presentation risk management authenticity

Questions to Reflect On

- Why hide personal truth?
- What are the costs of authenticity?

A Different Perspective

Secrecy can lead to vulnerability if exposed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Calculations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculations/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Closet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closet/) [Closet Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closet-exists-6073702/) [Closets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closets/) [Exists People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-people-1151307/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [I can do this](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can-do-this/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-careers-400389/) [Radar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radar/) [Say Closet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-closet-1031579/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/)

## Related quotes

> [“Make sure that everything you say is two-time talk. That means say it in the closet and be prepared to say it on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/make-sure-that-everything-you-say-is-two-time-talk-that-means-say-it/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [The whole point of being a closet fan of anything is that people aren't supposed to then out you and say that you're closet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-roday/the-whole-point-of-being-a-closet-fan-of-anything-is-that-people-aren/)

[James Roday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-roday/)

> [All political careers are a rollercoaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/all-political-careers-are-a-rollercoaster/)

[Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/)

> [“people who are more worried about the survival of their political careers than they are about the survival of the planet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moss/people-who-are-more-worried-about-the-survival-of-their-political/)

[Stephen Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moss/)

> [The model that I'd always seen as a little boy, as a teenager, as I watched other political careers, I saw people who'd start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-takano/the-model-that-i-d-always-seen-as-a-little-boy-as-a-teenager-as-i/)

[Mark Takano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-takano/)

> [What a heap of ash most political careers amount to, when one really stops to consider them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/what-a-heap-of-ash-most-political-careers-amount-to-when-one-really/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [All political careers end in failure, but few did it so quickly as David Cameron's. He came to power promising not to 'bang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/all-political-careers-end-in-failure-but-few-did-it-so-quickly-as/)

[David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/)

> [Justness exists, even if few people exist who feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/justness-exists-even-if-few-people-exist-who-feel-it/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [No original thought still exists. People are original, each one of them. The same ideas that others had before you are waiting for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashly-lorenzana/no-original-thought-still-exists-people-are-original-each-one-of-them/)

[Ashly Lorenzana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashly-lorenzana/)

> [Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/each-of-us-is-here-for-a-brief-sojourn-for-what-purpose-he-knows-not/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I think there's probably a God-shaped hole in everybody's being. Even if God only exists in people's minds, He's still a force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/i-think-there-s-probably-a-god-shaped-hole-in-everybody-s-being-even/)

[James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/)

> [Free will exists within each of us. Most people choose not to use their free will, so consequently they rarely alter their karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/free-will-exists-within-each-of-us-most-people-choose-not-to-use/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Ideal mental health, like freedom, exists for one person only if it exists for all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-chesler/ideal-mental-health-like-freedom-exists-for-one-person-only-if-it/)

[Phyllis Chesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-chesler/)

> [There exists, between people in love, a kind of capital held by each. This is not just a stock of affects or pleasure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/there-exists-between-people-in-love-a-kind-of-capital-held-by-each/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/without-deep-reflection-one-knows-from-daily-life-that-one-exists-for/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

## More by Kirby Dick

> [What I really hope for, ultimately, is that the closet will be a non-factor in American politics in a couple of decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/what-i-really-hope-for-ultimately-is-that-the-closet-will-be-a-non/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [The upside of being in the closet is that you develop skills of duplicity, which are great for big-time politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/the-upside-of-being-in-the-closet-is-that-you-develop-skills-of/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [What I don't understand is how a policy against outing trumps a policy of reporting. Whenever you're reporting on hypocrisy, you're kind of 'outing'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/what-i-don-t-understand-is-how-a-policy-against-outing-trumps-a/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [Sometimes there's kind of an "ick" factor around talking about anything about gay sexuality, for certain readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/sometimes-there-s-kind-of-an-ick-factor-around-talking-about-anything/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [There's a whole gay culture in DC, and there are as many gay Republicans as there are gay Democrats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/there-s-a-whole-gay-culture-in-dc-and-there-are-as-many-gay/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [People in New York, LA, San Francisco, they scratch their head at the concept of a gay Republican, but it really makes sense there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/people-in-new-york-la-san-francisco-they-scratch-their-head-at-the/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

> [I do think there are very few extreme right-wing gay Republicans. Although it depends how you define "extreme right-wing." They're making a political calculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/i-do-think-there-are-very-few-extreme-right-wing-gay-republicans/)

[Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

[Explore all 8 Kirby Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/)

## More Calculations quotes

> [Cold calculation, random spots of color, mathematically exact construction (clearly shown or concealed), drawing that is now silent and now strident . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-puccini/cold-calculation-random-spots-of-color-mathematically-exact/)

[Giacomo Puccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-puccini/)

> [No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/no-theory-about-our-bodies-as-mere-objects-of-observation-and/)

[Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/)

> [Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/without-calculation-economic-activity-is-impossible-since-under/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [It was so simple to paint things as I saw them; to put without special calculation a red close to a blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/it-was-so-simple-to-paint-things-as-i-saw-them-to-put-without-special/)

[Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/)

> [Losses of a kind of satisfaction that have no market equivalent don't show up in the calculations of economists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/losses-of-a-kind-of-satisfaction-that-have-no-market-equivalent-don-t/)

[Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/)

> [It was basic research in the photoelectric field-in the photoelectric effect that would one day lead to solar panels. It was basic research in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-was-basic-research-in-the-photoelectric-field-in-the-photoelectric/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Those who are unacquainted with the details of scientific investigation have no idea of the amount of labour expended in the determination of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyndall/those-who-are-unacquainted-with-the-details-of-scientific/)

[John Tyndall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyndall/)

> [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [There is a small segment of people with autism that have savant skills, where they can memorize entire maps of whole entire city. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/there-is-a-small-segment-of-people-with-autism-that-have-savant/)

[Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/)

> [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [All conventional wisdom has an element of truth to it, but good design requires more than an element of truth - it requires an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-petroski/all-conventional-wisdom-has-an-element-of-truth-to-it-but-good-design/)

[Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-petroski/)

> [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [As I'm getting older, I'm moving away from calculations and measurement. I'm trying to be more open to vulnerability and mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-lexier/as-i-m-getting-older-i-m-moving-away-from-calculations-and/)

[Micah Lexier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-lexier/)

> [ I am ashamed to tell you to how many figures I carried these calculations \[of Pi\], having no other business at the time ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-am-ashamed-to-tell-you-to-how-many-figures-i-carried-these/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/)

[Browse all 301 Calculations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculations/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so that people going into political careers make a calculation early on. They say to themselves, \"well, the closet is under the radar, I can do this.\"",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kirby Dick"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-talk-about-it-so-that-people/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Calculations"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-talk-about-it-so-that-people/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/kirby-dick-48218_calculations_the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-t_1598409.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The closet exists because people don't talk about it, so that people going into political careers make a…” — Kirby Dick",
                "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": "Kirby Dick",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The closet exists because people don't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-talk-about-it-so-that-people/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/the-closet-exists-because-people-don-t-talk-about-it-so-that-people/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
