--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So much of my life has been about…" description: "\"So much of my life has been about self-effacement, pretense, masquerading, concealment, and indirection.\" — Marlon Riggs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg" --- # So much of my life has been about self-effacement… ![“So much of my life has been about self-effacement, pretense, masquerading, concealment, and indirection.” quote by Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg) > “So much of my life has been about self-effacement, pretense, masquerading, concealment, and indirection.” [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. His life involved hiding true self behind pretenses and indirect behavior. **In simple terms:** Self‑effacement masks authenticity. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty and reject false personas. Themes identity self‑effacement pretense authenticity Mood reflective vulnerable Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - public speaking - creative work Key Concepts psychology social performance self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - What masks do you wear? - How can you reveal true self safely? A Different Perspective Fear of judgment can impede authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concealment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealment/) [Concealment Indirection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealment-indirection-5290385/) [Confession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confession/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Masquerading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masquerading-321368/) [Masquerading Concealment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masquerading-concealment-5290384/) [Pretense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretense/) [Pretense Masquerading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretense-masquerading-5290383/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Effacement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-effacement-1754249/) ## Related quotes > [“The ultimate self-effacement is not the pretense of the minimal, but the jocular considerations of the maximal in the manner of Wallace Stevens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/the-ultimate-self-effacement-is-not-the-pretense-of-the-minimal-but/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [The idea of self-effacement, the idea that you feel so powerless that the only tiny morsel of power you have is over your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/the-idea-of-self-effacement-the-idea-that-you-feel-so-powerless-that/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [To reach perfection, we must all pass, one by one, through the death of self-effacement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/to-reach-perfection-we-must-all-pass-one-by-one-through-the-death-of/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [The problem with a beautiful woman is that she makes everyone around her feel hopelessly masculine, which if you’re already male to begin with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/the-problem-with-a-beautiful-woman-is-that-she-makes-everyone-around/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm masquerading as an innocent pop star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/i-m-masquerading-as-an-innocent-pop-star/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [“There are no solutions, only cowardice masquerading as such.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/there-are-no-solutions-only-cowardice-masquerading-as-such/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“There are always choices. Sometimes, we just refuse to see them because we fear them—or because they’re masquerading as something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-mcman/there-are-always-choices-sometimes-we-just-refuse-to-see-them-because/) [Ann McMan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-mcman/) > [The artist can't paint, sing, or dance without emotion: if he does, he is a machine masquerading as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-artist-can-t-paint-sing-or-dance-without-emotion-if-he-does-he-is/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“The three of us blended with the clientele as well as a fifteen year-old ex-thief, a girl from the future masquerading as a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-white/the-three-of-us-blended-with-the-clientele-as-well-as-a-fifteen-year/) [April White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-white/) > [A fetish is a story masquerading as an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stoller/a-fetish-is-a-story-masquerading-as-an-object/) [Robert Stoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stoller/) > [“Brigands masquerading as statesmen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-patrick/brigands-masquerading-as-statesmen/) [Renee Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-patrick/) > [Masquerading the heart is the height of haunting souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/masquerading-the-heart-is-the-height-of-haunting-souls/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me. I'm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-who-you-think-i-am-in-fact-my-disguise-is-so-thin-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Twitter is one of those dangerous toys that if it gets in the hands of the wrong person you'll have the mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/twitter-is-one-of-those-dangerous-toys-that-if-it-gets-in-the-hands/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [“She, if anyone, was on a hell-bound train. I mean, if you're masquerading as a do-gooder, why not go all the way?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-west/she-if-anyone-was-on-a-hell-bound-train-i-mean-if-you-re-masquerading/) [Michael Lee West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-west/) ## More by Marlon Riggs > [When nobody speaks your name, or even knows it, you, knowing it, must be the first to speak it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/when-nobody-speaks-your-name-or-even-knows-it-you-knowing-it-must-be/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [Silence kills the soul; it diminishes its possibilities to rise and fly and explore. Silence withers what makes you human. The soul shrinks, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/silence-kills-the-soul-it-diminishes-its-possibilities-to-rise-and/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [Black men loving black men is THE revolutionary act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/black-men-loving-black-men-is-the-revolutionary-act/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [Silence is my weapon, silence is my shield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/silence-is-my-weapon-silence-is-my-shield/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [It is necessary to constantly remind ourselves that we are not an abomination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/it-is-necessary-to-constantly-remind-ourselves-that-we-are-not-an/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [As long as I have work then I'm not going to die, cause work is a living spirit in me - that which wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/as-long-as-i-have-work-then-i-m-not-going-to-die-cause-work-is-a/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) > [My struggle has allowed me to transcend that sense of shame and stigma identified with my being a Black gay man. Having come through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/my-struggle-has-allowed-me-to-transcend-that-sense-of-shame-and/) [Marlon Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) [Explore all 8 Marlon Riggs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/) ## More Concealment quotes > [Camouflage is about much more than concealment and going unnoticed. There's a whole game involved between revealing and hiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raf-simons/camouflage-is-about-much-more-than-concealment-and-going-unnoticed/) [Raf Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raf-simons/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“Every philosophy is a foreground philosophy — that is a hermit's judgment: "There is something arbitrary in his stopping here to look back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-philosophy-is-a-foreground-philosophy-that-is-a-hermit-s/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-very-word-secrecy-is-repugnant-in-a-free-and-open-society-and-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“women are so suspicious of any interest that has not some obvious motive behind it, so terribly accustomed to concealment and suppression, that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/women-are-so-suspicious-of-any-interest-that-has-not-some-obvious/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Insofar as it represents a genuine reconciliation of differences, a consensus is a fine thing; insofar as it represents a concealment of differences, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/insofar-as-it-represents-a-genuine-reconciliation-of-differences-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [“It is axiomatic that the attempt to become a Sufi through a desire for personal power as normally understood will not succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-axiomatic-that-the-attempt-to-become-a-sufi-through-a-desire/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The purpose of polite behavior is never virtuous. Deceit, surrender, and concealment these are not virtues. The goal of the mannerly is comfort, per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/the-purpose-of-polite-behavior-is-never-virtuous-deceit-surrender-and/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [Factory farming, like comparable evils throughout history, depends for its existence upon concealment. It depends on people either not noticing or willfully averting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/factory-farming-like-comparable-evils-throughout-history-depends-for/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [To succeed in the other trades, capacity must be shown; in the law, concealment of it will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-succeed-in-the-other-trades-capacity-must-be-shown-in-the-law/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The cautious wolf fears the pit, the hawk regards with suspicion the snare laid for her, and the fish the hook in its concealment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-cautious-wolf-fears-the-pit-the-hawk-regards-with-suspicion-the/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For a wrongdoer to be undetected is difficult; and for him to have confidence that his concealment will continue is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/for-a-wrongdoer-to-be-undetected-is-difficult-and-for-him-to-have/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [I could only relax when there was just one tiny white last spot left. I could see more clearly. I could grasp the shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnulf-rainer/i-could-only-relax-when-there-was-just-one-tiny-white-last-spot-left/) [Arnulf Rainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnulf-rainer/) > [I believe that the public temper is such that the voters of the land are prepared to support the party which gives the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/i-believe-that-the-public-temper-is-such-that-the-voters-of-the-land/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) > [And when a woman's will is as strong as the man's who wants to govern her, half her strength must be concealment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-when-a-woman-s-will-is-as-strong-as-the-man-s-who-wants-to-govern/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Browse all 69 Concealment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So much of my life has been about self-effacement, pretense, masquerading, concealment, and indirection.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marlon Riggs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-effacement-pretense/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concealment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-effacement-pretense/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/marlon-riggs-48020_concealment_so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-e_1463132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So much of my life has been about self-effacement, pretense, masquerading, concealment, and indirection.” — Marlon Riggs", "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": "Marlon Riggs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-riggs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So much of my life has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-effacement-pretense/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-riggs/so-much-of-my-life-has-been-about-self-effacement-pretense/#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 } } ] } ```