10 Disney Quotes That I've Always Identified With as an LGBTQ+ Person

Updated on 6/19/2020 at 9:40 AM

The Walt Disney Company has been slow to represent queer characters in a substantial way, and yet some of the most iconic Disney films contain poignant quotes that describe exactly what I've struggled with at certain points in my life as a queer person. The rainbow magic is there. It's always been there in the words. These lyrics and lines from Disney movies have stuck with me, empowered me, and given me hope throughout my life. Whether or not these quotes were written with the LGBTQ+ community in mind, I've always identified with them.

"And rainbows have nothing to hide."

Just hearing those first few banjo riffs will get me choked up because the words that come after mean a lot to me. The song "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie, and specifically this lyric, has empowered me in times when people around me acted as if I have something to be ashamed of when, in fact, I don't. Being LGBTQ+ is not something to hide. During the pandemic, Kermit even reprised the song on the official Muppets Instagram account for some quarantined at-home joy. And as we're about to celebrate Pride Month at home this June, it couldn't come at a better time.

"And I won't stop until I start to stand out. To stand out."

This earworm from A Goofy Movie is a great Pride month anthem. I love the verse that says, "Some people settle for the typical thing, livin' all their lives waiting in the wings." Because to come out, you have to be brave "to stand out" from the norm.

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

When I was little and watched Mulan, I definitely didn't understand the weight of what the Emperor says, but as I've grown up and come into my own as an LGBTQ adult, I now know that this is about strength and character. It's about thriving, despite every discrimination and hardship the world may throw at you.

"Somehow I cannot hide who I am, though I've tried. When will my reflection show who I am inside?"

As a kid, I thought this song was just about how Mulan wants to be sporty and not wear makeup. When I listen to it now, all I hear is parallels that make me think of people close to me who are nonbinary and transgender. It's that struggle of knowing you are someone else and the heartbreak of not seeing that person in the mirror.

"Your rainbow will come smiling through."

Not sure the folks who made Cinderella intended on these lyrics meaning something to a queer tween in Central Alabama, but they did — and they still do. Remember: "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."

"I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong."

"Go the Distance" from Hercules is one of my favorite Disney songs. And even though I've seen the Happily Ever After fireworks show at The Magic Kingdom a hundred times, I still get chills when I hear this song sampled.

We all struggle to fit in at some point or another in our lives, but for queer youth it's harder — so much harder. It does get better, however. And you do find people like you who support you and love you for who you are. But I know that exact feeling of not fitting in, knowing you're different and somehow knowing that something else is out there.

"I'm a damsel. I'm in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day."

As a femme, I have never related to something more. This is literally any queer woman who has ever been pestered by a small-minded straight dude who just doesn't get it.

"The very things that held you down are gonna carry you up and up and up!"

Nearly 80 years after its release, Dumbo still has some major truth bombs thanks to Timothy Q. Mouse. This line has always resonated with me because it's about how we shouldn't hide the things that make us different. When I came out in my personal life, it opened so many doors in my professional life. I started covering LGBTQ+ topics as part of my career and those opportunities would have never happened had I not embraced a part of me I downplayed.

"Out there they'll revile you as a monster. Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer."

There's a lot to unpack in The Hunchback of Notre Dame — even the cartoon version — and I definitely did not pick up on the more serious themes as a kid. But now, I see that there are many parallels to the rift and clash between religion and being queer, especially in the song "Out There."

The pious Frollo really hits home that anything different is a disgrace. And later, when Quasimodo sings about what he'd give just to live a day out there, it reminds me of people's straight privilege that they take for granted. Simply holding my wife's hand "out there" in public can be dangerous or warrant stares in certain regions and people don't realize how difficult it can be for same-sex couples.

"Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore."

I don't care what Disney says; to me, Elsa is gay and every line of Frozen's "Let It Go" is about coming out. Exhibit A: "Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried." Exhibit B: "Don't let them in, don't let them see." Exhibit C: "Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know."

It's all about empowerment and the strength that comes from telling your truth. The lyric, "And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all," is incredibly powerful because it represents the first step in living your life out and proud.