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If you are a woman, if you are a person of colour, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, if you are a person of size, if you are person of intelligence, if you are a person of integrity, then you are considered a minority in this world. And it's going to be really hard for us to find messages of self-love and support anywhere.... If you don't have self-esteem, you will hesitate to do anything in your life.... You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote; you will hesitate to dream. For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution, and our revolution is long overdue.

Margaret Cho#59

IdentityActivismRightsDiscriminationEmpowermentSelf esteemSelf love

About this quote

What does it mean?
Margaret Cho argues that marginalized identities make one a minority globally, hindering self-love and confidence. She links self-esteem to taking action against discrimination and oppression.
In plain terms
Many people face marginalization based on identity, making self-esteem hard to find but essential for standing up for rights.
What can you take from it?
Building self-esteem is a revolutionary act for those facing systemic discrimination.

Where it applies

  • dealing with discrimination
  • building self-confidence
  • advocating for rights

Putting it to work

  • promoting self-love
  • challenging stereotypes
  • encouraging civic engagement

Questions to consider

  • How can communities support self-esteem for marginalized people?
  • What barriers prevent people from acting on their values?

Another view

The quote assumes all listed groups face equal levels of marginalization globally.

More from Margaret Cho

  1. It's gonna be really hard to find messages of self-love and support anywhere, especially in women's and gay men's culture. It's all about how you have to look …

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  2. This is a very strange time we're living in, ... and I would feel a little bit better if George W. Bush could say the word 'nuclear' correctly...You would have…

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  3. So from the age of 10, I became anorexic, and then bulimic, and then stayed that way for about twenty years, until one day I just said, Hey, what if this is it…

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