iO Tillett Wright Quotes
Born: December 17, 1985
iO Tillett Wright is a photographer, writer, and activist whose work vibrates at the intersection of identity, courage, and radical self-acceptance. Best known for the Self-Evident Truths project, which documented 10,000 Americans who exist somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, Wright’s philosophy centers on the profound power of vulnerability. Their quotes resonate because they dismantle fear with poetic precision, urging us to embrace the messy, beautiful complexity of being human. With a voice that is both tender and unflinching, Wright reminds us that true wisdom is not found in certainty, but in the bravery of showing up exactly as we are.
iO Tillett Wright Quotes (8)
"I was part of a show called 'Manifest Equality' in Los Angeles in 2010, and I realized there was a disconnect between people who are gay or have gay friends and are gay-friendly, and people who think they don't know any gay people."
— Io Tillett Wright"I was born and raised in Manhattan; I didn't realize that I, in all my androgyny, was a freak to the rest of this country."
— Io Tillett Wright"All I'm ever looking for in my work in general is honesty and truth and people being real to themselves."
— Io Tillett Wright"It's illegal to be gay in Little Rock - this is such a reality for so many people, but once people get to these bubbles of New York or L.A. or Boulder, Colorado, they forget."
— Io Tillett Wright"We are neurologically hardwired to seek out people like ourselves. We start forming cliques as soon as we're old enough to know what acceptance feels like. We bond together based on anything that we can - music preference, race, gender, the block that we grew up on."
— Io Tillett Wright"Where I come from, if you weren't a drag queen or a radical thinker or a performance artist of some kind, you were the weirdo."
— Io Tillett Wright"At sleepovers I would have panic attacks trying to break it to girls that they didn't want to kiss me without outing myself."
— Io Tillett Wright"For me, photography is not just about exposing film, it's about exposing the viewer to something new, a place they haven't gone before, but most importantly, to people that they might be afraid of."
— Io Tillett Wright