Love & Passion Quote by Harvey Fierstein

A child’s kiss becomes “magic” here not because it’s pure or angelic, but because it’s scarce. Harvey Fierstein, a performer who’s spent a career turning big feeling into sharp one-liners, frames affection like a commodity: the less available it is, the more adults obsess over it. The joke lands on a sly reversal. We’re used to thinking kids are lavish with love; he suggests the opposite, and suddenly every withheld peck becomes a tiny power play.

The intent is double: to flatter the sweetness adults project onto children, and to puncture that projection. Calling it “magic” admits the adult hunger for proof that we’re loved without conditions. The punchline, “Why else would they be so stingy with them?” slips in the uncomfortable truth that children are often the least interested in performing gratitude on demand. They give affection when it feels safe, when they want to, when the moment suits them - not when a grown-up leans in with expectation. That’s not cruelty; it’s agency.

Context matters: Fierstein’s voice is theatrical, warm, and tart. He’s writing from a world where chosen family, consent, and emotional honesty carry real stakes. The line reads as a gentle reminder that intimacy isn’t an entitlement. A child’s kiss isn’t a prize for good parenting or a receipt for love. It’s a tiny, unbiddable gift - which is exactly why it feels like magic.