Dan Savage Quotes

Powerful Dan Savage for Daily Growth

About Dan Savage

Dan Savage is an American author, journalist, and media personality, known for his candid advice columns, LGBTQ+ activism, and witty humor. Born on July 7, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, Daniel Suarez Savage grew up in a Catholic household with nine siblings. His parents, both immigrants from the Philippines, instilled strong values of hard work and resilience. After dropping out of college, Savage moved to Seattle in his early twenties. It was here that he found his calling as a writer, initially contributing to local newspapers before creating his popular advice column, "Savage Love," in 1991. The column, which deals with sex, relationships, and the LGBTQ+ community, is syndicated in over 50 alternative newspapers across North America and has since become one of the most widely read columns on sex and relationships. In addition to his advice column, Savage is also recognized for his activism work. He co-founded the It Gets Better Project in 2010, a campaign aimed at preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ youth by showcasing stories of hope and resilience from celebrities, public figures, and everyday people. Savage's major works include several books such as "The Kid", a memoir about his experiences growing up in Chicago, and "American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics from the Nation's Foremost Advice Columnist," a collection of his essays. His distinctive writing style, blending humor with frank discussions on sex and relationships, has made him a beloved figure in popular culture. Today, Dan Savage continues to write his advice column, speak at events, and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He remains an influential voice in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Justice is love in public."

Dan Savage's quote, "Justice is love in public," emphasizes that true justice arises from compassionate, loving actions taken collectively in a public space. It suggests that treating others with kindness and fairness not only fosters harmony within communities but also upholds the principles of justice. In essence, this quote encourages us to embrace empathy and equity as we strive for a more just society.


"Good sex is less about technique and more about trust, communication, and, most of all, empathy."

This quote by Dan Savage emphasizes that a fulfilling sexual relationship is primarily based on mutual trust, open communication, and emotional connection or empathy. It suggests that mastering specific sexual techniques is less crucial than understanding, respecting, and valuing your partner's feelings, needs, and desires. By fostering an environment of emotional intimacy, you can create a more satisfying sexual experience together.


"It gets better." (From the It Gets Better Project)

The quote "It gets better" by Dan Savage from the It Gets Better Project is a message of hope, encouragement, and resilience for those who may be struggling with challenges, particularly in relation to issues such as bullying, discrimination, or difficult circumstances related to their sexual orientation or gender identity. The message suggests that while life may be tough now, things will improve over time, offering the promise of a brighter future. This quote is important because it helps individuals who are currently experiencing hardship to find solace and persistence in knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.


"Everybody is sincere about their bullshit values until they get a hard-on or a stiff drink."

This quote suggests that people may openly express their strongly held beliefs, values, or moral principles (often referred to as "bullshit" in this context) unless faced with temptation or influenced by intoxicants. In other words, it implies that the true nature of one's character may be exposed when under the influence of strong desires or substances, revealing any inconsistencies between expressed values and actual behavior.


"All the straight people and all the queer people I know are worried about raising good, kind, happy kids who learn to treat others with respect and who grow up to be decent human beings."

This quote by Dan Savage suggests that regardless of sexual orientation, all parents share a common goal: to raise compassionate, respectful, and well-rounded children. It highlights the universal concern among individuals identifying as straight or queer for their children's development into decent human beings. The emphasis on treating others with kindness and respect underscores the importance of empathy, understanding, and acceptance in modern society.


I got picked on a lot, even by teachers too. I liked to listen to musicals and bake, and my homeroom teacher found out and mocked me in front of the whole class for baking.

- Dan Savage

Got, Mocked, Whole, Picked

A certain tiny percentage of everyone is gay.

- Dan Savage

Everyone, Tiny, Certain, Percentage

To be gay is nothing to be proud of. It's in how you are gay that you have something to be proud of, considering the obstacles placed in your path if you are gay.

- Dan Savage

Proud, Nothing, Placed, Considering

Children have a right to some stability and constancy from the adults in their lives.

- Dan Savage

Children, Some, Lives, Constancy

The successes of the LGBT civil rights movement and the more prominent role openly gay people are playing in the public eye has actually turned up the temperature in middle schools and high schools for queer kids.

- Dan Savage

Role, Queer, Prominent, Public Eye

The bullied straight kid goes home to a shoulder to cry on and support and can talk freely about his experience at school and why he's being bullied. I couldn't go home and open up to my parents.

- Dan Savage

Kid, Why, About, Shoulder

I think the 'South Park' guys are brilliant.

- Dan Savage

Think, Brilliant, I Think, South Park

I didn't want kids to think that to be happy, they had to be famous or rich or live in the big city.

- Dan Savage

Think, Famous, Big, Big City

Christmas can have a real melancholy aspect, 'cause it packages itself as this idea of perfect family cohesion and love, and you're always going to come up short when you measure your personal life against the idealized personal lives that are constantly thrust in our faces, primarily by TV commercials.

- Dan Savage

Love, Perfect, TV, Packages

Ultimately life is disease, death and oblivion. It's still better than high school.

- Dan Savage

Better, High, Still, Oblivion

My dad was a homicide cop in the gay neighborhood in the city when gay neighborhoods were desperate, depressing, sad places run by the mob. The only gay people he'd met when I came out to him were corpses.

- Dan Savage

City, Mob, Cop, Corpses

It's going to take generations of gay people marrying before these things start to feel natural. We haven't had it long enough to remake it as our own, so it does feel like you're getting dressed up in straight drag to do it.

- Dan Savage

Own, Generations, Before, Remake

Mother's Day is a torment if your mother is dead. Valentine's Day is a torment if you don't got one. And at some point in our lives, we will be tormented by Valentine's Day even if we're relatively lucky in love.

- Dan Savage

Love, Lucky, Some, Tormented

Actual gay people can make many others feel uncomfortable and paranoid because they don't know and can't articulate what makes a person gay, and they worry that maybe they themselves are gay.

- Dan Savage

Worry, Maybe, Actual, Articulate

A huge part of what animates homophobia among young people is paranoia and fear of their own capacity to be gay themselves.

- Dan Savage

Young, Part, Huge Part, Paranoia

Most Americans don't care about gay marriage.

- Dan Savage

Marriage, Most, About, Gay Marriage

I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect or forget it.

- Dan Savage

Think, Year, Pretty, Letters

Like it or not children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents all over America - as many as 10 million children. And it does nothing to make their lives more stable and secure to attack their families, to attack their parents to prevent us from marrying each other.

- Dan Savage

America, Other, Secure, Marrying

Women can go on marrying and pretending that their boyfriends and husbands are Mr. Darcy or some RomCom dream man. But where's that going to get 'em? Besides divorce court?

- Dan Savage

Pretending, Some, Mr, Marrying

You want to help gay kids, you have to reach them in middle school and high school, when they're being bullied.

- Dan Savage

Reach, Want, Middle, Bullied

A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It's often the effeminate boys and the masculine girls, the ones who violate gender norms and expectations, who get bullied.

- Dan Savage

Gender, Expression, Often, Bullied

Straight couples don't have to be monogamous to be married or married to be monogamous. Monogamy no more defines marriage than the presence of children does. Monogamy isn't compulsory and its absence doesn't invalidate a marriage.

- Dan Savage

More, Absence, Couples, Monogamy

Every question is a hypothetical question for everyone but the person who asks it.

- Dan Savage

Question, Person, Everyone, Hypothetical

The only way to get gay issues off the front pages of Canadian newspapers is to grant gay and lesbian people our full civil equality and leave it alone.

- Dan Savage

Issues, Canadian, Newspapers, Lesbian

I wouldn't say that holidays are manufactured by corporations, but they're certainly exploited and mined by them.

- Dan Savage

Holidays, Say, Certainly, Corporations

In an open adoption agreement, you agree to a minimum number of visits - a floor, not a ceiling. It's enforceable.

- Dan Savage

Number, Ceiling, Visits, Open

I think the best thing for you to do is just live your life. Live a life that's worth living, one where you do what you want to do, pursue your passions. That way, if you meet someone, they'll be joining a life that's already really good.

- Dan Savage

Best, Joining, I Think, Passions

I believe it's in the best interests of a child to be in a stable environment.

- Dan Savage

Best, Environment, Stable

Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does it well and triumphs.

- Dan Savage

Reason, Preaching, Triumphs, Choir

I'm allergic to dogs, so I couldn't even adopt what gay men typically adopt when they have that maternal gene.

- Dan Savage

Gene, Even, Adopt, Allergic

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