"As long as I'm having fun, I'm not quitting"
About this Quote
“As long as I’m having fun, I’m not quitting” sounds like a throwaway line, but it’s actually a tidy philosophy of stamina - and a subtle refusal of how we’re trained to justify staying power. Sue Johanson, best known for bringing candid sex education into mainstream media, didn’t build her legacy by pleading for permission or wrapping everything in solemn “importance.” She built it by making the work feel livable: playful, curious, a little mischievous, and therefore sustainable.
The intent is disarmingly practical. Fun isn’t framed as a reward after the “real” labor; it’s the condition that keeps the engine running. That matters in a culture that romanticizes burnout as proof of seriousness. Johanson flips the script: if the joy goes, the project isn’t noble - it’s just extraction. For a writer and public communicator, that’s also a credibility move. Fun signals aliveness, the sense that she’s still learning, still game to meet audiences where they are.
The subtext is autonomy. “I’m not quitting” implies there are pressures to stop - ageism, prudishness, gatekeeping, the expectation that outspoken women should eventually quiet down. By tethering continuation to pleasure, she sidesteps every external metric: prestige, productivity, approval. It’s not “as long as I’m relevant,” or “as long as they’ll let me.” It’s “as long as I want to.”
In Johanson’s context, fun is strategy. It’s how taboo becomes talkable, how education becomes invitation, how a long career stays sharp without turning sour.
The intent is disarmingly practical. Fun isn’t framed as a reward after the “real” labor; it’s the condition that keeps the engine running. That matters in a culture that romanticizes burnout as proof of seriousness. Johanson flips the script: if the joy goes, the project isn’t noble - it’s just extraction. For a writer and public communicator, that’s also a credibility move. Fun signals aliveness, the sense that she’s still learning, still game to meet audiences where they are.
The subtext is autonomy. “I’m not quitting” implies there are pressures to stop - ageism, prudishness, gatekeeping, the expectation that outspoken women should eventually quiet down. By tethering continuation to pleasure, she sidesteps every external metric: prestige, productivity, approval. It’s not “as long as I’m relevant,” or “as long as they’ll let me.” It’s “as long as I want to.”
In Johanson’s context, fun is strategy. It’s how taboo becomes talkable, how education becomes invitation, how a long career stays sharp without turning sour.
Quote Details
| Topic | Never Give Up |
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