--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I really couldn't come out until after I…" description: "\"I really couldn't come out until after I got my citizenship, because it was a disclaim - back then, it could have been a disqualifier. I could have bee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/martina-navratilova-3608_back_i-really-couldn-t-come-out-until-after-i_869364.png" --- # I really couldn't come out until after I got my… ![“I really couldn't come out until after I got my citizenship, because it was a disclaim - back then, it could have been a disqualifier. I could have been denied my U.S. citizenship because I was gay. So I didn't - I stayed quiet.” quote by Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/martina-navratilova-3608_back_i-really-couldn-t-come-out-until-after-i_869364.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/martina-navratilova-3608_back_i-really-couldn-t-come-out-until-after-i_869364.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/martina-navratilova-3608_back_i-really-couldn-t-come-out-until-after-i_869364.png) > “I really couldn't come out until after I got my citizenship, because it was a disclaim - back then, it could have been a disqualifier. I could have been denied my U.S. citizenship because I was gay. So I didn't - I stayed quiet.” [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She hid her sexual orientation to avoid losing citizenship, fearing discrimination could block her naturalization. **In simple terms:** She stayed silent to protect her citizenship. Key Takeaway Speak truthfully despite fear. Themes identity discrimination citizenship LGBTQ+ courage Mood anxious reflective Type personal political When to use this quote - coming out - advocacy - legal advice - support groups Key Concepts social stigma legal risk personal safety Questions to Reflect On - How might openness change policies? - What support helps LGBTQ+ immigrants? A Different Perspective Silence can perpetuate systemic bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship/) [Citizenship Disclaim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship-disclaim-934917/) [Citizenship Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship-gay-934914/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Denied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denied/) [Denied Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denied-citizenship-934915/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Got Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-citizenship-934916/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) ## Related quotes > [I have always found it jarring to encounter people born and raised in, say, Switzerland, who are denied its citizenship and still considered Algerians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-always-found-it-jarring-to-encounter-people-born-and-raised-in/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/never-believe-anything-in-politics-until-it-has-been-officially-denied/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [That which is denied cannot be healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/that-which-is-denied-cannot-be-healed/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [It is necessary a writing critic should understand how to write. And though every writer is not bound to show himself in the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/it-is-necessary-a-writing-critic-should-understand-how-to-write-and/) [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/) > [Language would have evolved first as an internal object, a kind of "language of thought" (LOT), with externalisation (hence communication) an ancillary process. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/language-would-have-evolved-first-as-an-internal-object-a-kind-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. 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I originally denied being involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/what-makes-me-angry-is-that-it-wasn-t-me-who-revealed-that-i-had-been/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/) [Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) ## More by Martina Navratilova > [The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/the-moment-of-victory-is-much-too-short-to-live-for-that-and-nothing/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [Tennis is the purest form of democracy. There was a symbiotic, chicken-and-egg relationship for me between democracy and tennis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/tennis-is-the-purest-form-of-democracy-there-was-a-symbiotic-chicken/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [What I would tell girls coming up is just be yourself and don't let people get in the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/what-i-would-tell-girls-coming-up-is-just-be-yourself-and-don-t-let/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [You can't live in the past, there's nothing you can do about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/you-can-t-live-in-the-past-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-about-it/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [When one man becomes more important than the country he's supposed to be leading, this will always create a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/when-one-man-becomes-more-important-than-the-country-he-s-supposed-to/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [I am not looking for perfection. 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So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. 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