Top 50 Asia Kate Dillon Quotes

When you see white, cisgendered, heterosexual men having conversations about gender identity where they go, ‘Oh, those are your pronouns? OK, great. Let’s get back to work,’ it allows other people to say, ‘Maybe if they can do it, I can do it.’

Binaries, whether it’s ‘man’ or ‘woman,’ or ‘black’ and ‘white,’ were created to separate us. So without binary, there is only ‘us,’ which makes us all equal.

I’m really interested in going back in to the history of non-binary people and seeing how many people in history were non-binary but that didn’t know it themselves or because we didn’t have the language, couldn’t talk about it. I know how that felt being a young person not having that language.

Capitalism in and of itself is based on the monetising of human labour, and the first evidence of that is slavery. And that has never changed. We are all participating in that.

I’ve always felt like I’m Asia: I’m the first me and I’m the first Asia that’s going to walk into the room, and I’m here to change the game. That’s part of who I am.

We’ve been socialised and told that there is a way to describe people, and that way is by their gender or their sex.

I find that, often, when I tell people what pronoun I use, I don’t get a lot of backlash. I’m really lucky in that respect.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that only gender non-conforming, non-binary, or trans people have a gender identity. But the truth is, everyone has a gender identity.

What ‘Billions’ does so brilliantly is they just make it a non-issue. Damien Lewis’ character says, ‘Those are the pronouns you use? Great, let’s get down to business. How can you make me money?’

‘Orange’ is fun. Even when we’re doing super-intense, emotional, or physical stuff, we’re having fun. We’re checking in with each other; we know about each other’s lives and know each other’s families and relationships. We’re really friends.

Art is so valuable that I think its misuse is really dangerous. When it’s used well, when it’s telling a story well or creating representation or visibility for something that’s really lacking, it can really save lives.

Gender-neutral clothing is often, for lack of a better term, bags on bags. A baggy shirt with baggy pants, that sort of erases any individuality, as opposed to enhancing it.

I was gender-nonconforming in high school in terms of the way I dressed, in terms of the way I cut my hair.

‘Actor’ and ‘actress’ don’t have to be gendered or sexed.

Nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and trans people have always been around, just as long as any other type of person.

I really like working with different directors. It’s really fun.

I spent so many years not understanding my own gender identity and not having the language for it, and not having those conversations, that now I’m so eager to talk about it. Then I learn more about myself and other people.

What we need to do is get rid of ‘men’s’ and ‘women’s’ sections and make sections that are, like, ‘dresses for tall people,’ ‘pants for short people,’ ‘jeans for people with hips,’ you know what I mean?

A lot of brands are saying they’re going to make ‘gender neutral’ clothing. But clothing is gender neutral.

I’ve always been comfortable being the first person at a party, metaphorically speaking – being the first person on the dance floor, saying, ‘This is where it’s happening, people, and if you don’t think so, that’s cool, but I think you’re missing out.’ That’s my general philosophy, and it’s served me pretty well.

Sometimes you have to see the thing to know that it exists. Maybe there’s a queer person in a town, but they don’t feel comfortable or safe coming out, frankly, and the only representation they feel that they have or connection they have is on television or in a movie, and that’s really powerful.

I moved to New York at 17 to go to school. At 24, I moved back to Ithaca, then moved back to New York at 28.

I’m always interested in, I would say, not only sharing my wisdom, but acquiring other people’s wisdom as well.

While I acknowledge that it’s not my whiteness that has given me my platform entirely… it’s part of the reason I’ve garnered so much acceptance and praise for being out and nonbinary.

Damian Lewis is a consummate professional. He is kind. He’s compassionate. He’s able to engage in real conversation when we’re not rolling, and then, the minute we’re rolling, he’s totally present and reacting truthfully in the moment and listening.

I do say gender fluid, because I experience my gender identity as being fluid because it’s on a spectrum.

I think that it’s important to say that trans people exist, and we are valid, whether we choose to transition or not. It’s really up to anyone to decide what is going to make them feel the most like themselves.

The work that I engage with, whether it’s self-generated or collaborative, is uplifting and supporting historically marginalized and disenfranchised people, because when I uplift up those groups, I’m uplifting myself and supporting myself – it works out in that way.

Once people are made aware of things that they were previously ignorant of, I think people are a lot more willing to really try.

I can remember, actually, seeing the film ‘Oliver!’ and understanding so badly that I wanted to play that part, but that I would never be able to because I was a ‘girl’ and Oliver was a ‘boy.’

I was assigned female at birth. My gender identify is non-binary.

I would love to do things that teach me new skills. Like, I don’t know how to ride a horse. And not that I need a film or television project to teach me that, but it’s one of the perks of being an actor, inhabiting a character who has experiences and a knowledge that I don’t.

There was a time when it was important culturally to have the word ‘actress,’ I suppose, but when it comes to awards ceremonies, we don’t have ‘Best Directress’ or ‘Best Cinematographeress!’

Within my immediate creative community, I would say gender is something that I’ve always been interested in and always talked about.

I’ve been fortunate that the roles I’ve auditioned for, I auditioned because I felt I was the right actor to play that part.

My mother has always rooted for the underdog, so to speak. She has always been in support of uplifting historically marginalized and historically disenfranchised people.

The United States has larger enclaves than one might suspect of communities that have simply never engaged with anyone different than themselves or anyone that has an ideology that’s different or a background that’s different.

My impression of Wall Street growing up was certainly that it was like the big, bad place where all of the men did the bad things with our money.

For all of the incredible messages I’ve received about how my visibility is helping people, those people who I follow on social media still receive daily death threats and the most derogatory, inhumane vitriol.

I believe the arts are the best way to help people go on a journey of self-discovery toward their own compassion and empathy for humanity and themselves.

Given the choice between ‘actor’ and ‘actress,’ ‘actor’ is a non-gendered word that I use.

I wish everyone could just be free.

When you are not working in TV and primarily doing film, you’re working with one director for a long period of time, so getting to work with 12 different directors in the span of six months is incredible.

I think we’re at a really critical time in terms of art, and I think it’s totally possible to have a project that is entertaining but also moving the cultural needle forward. I think it’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful to work on ‘Billions.’

This character I play on ‘OITNB’ is an antagonist in a Black Lives Matter storyline, but you need antagonists in order to tell those stories.

I love that although the world is a dangerous place, I still find it to be beautiful.

Honestly, from a very young age, before I had the language, really – anywhere that I encountered binary, whether it was in clothing or in toys or in media, it always made me uncomfortable.

The stories I grew up with, whether it came to queer representation or representation of anyone that was different, it was always a story of, like, very sad, usually ended up with somebody dying, and it made the idea of being queer or different really scary, actually.

I remember specifically a couple of performances that I saw when I was young – River Phoenix in ‘Stand by Me’ and also Michael Jackson, in particular his ability to command such power and love while maintaining such deep vulnerability. It really moved my soul from a very young age.

I’m really proud that MTV has joined the conversation about breaking down binaries.