"If there is a gay uniform, the differences are in how each man coordinates the details: the brand and cut of the jeans, the design of belts and boots, the haircut, the number and size of earrings"
About this Quote
The specificity is the point. "Brand and cut", "belts and boots", "number and size of earrings" reads like field notes from someone who has actually been watched and has learned to watch back. Loud is indexing a semiotics of recognition: a way to be legible to the right people while staying plausibly deniable to the wrong ones. The subtext is about survival and desire in a world that polices gender presentation. Details become both shield and beacon.
Context matters: Loud came to fame as an early, openly gay reality-TV figure in the 1970s, when visibility carried real consequences. His observation sits at the intersection of liberation and marketplace. The "uniform" isn’t just social; it’s retail. Style becomes a language, but also an economy, where authenticity is performed through purchases and taste. Loud’s wit is that he can admire the craft of self-presentation while still clocking how quickly rebellion turns into a dress code.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Loud, Lance. (n.d.). If there is a gay uniform, the differences are in how each man coordinates the details: the brand and cut of the jeans, the design of belts and boots, the haircut, the number and size of earrings. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-is-a-gay-uniform-the-differences-are-in-80980/
Chicago Style
Loud, Lance. "If there is a gay uniform, the differences are in how each man coordinates the details: the brand and cut of the jeans, the design of belts and boots, the haircut, the number and size of earrings." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-is-a-gay-uniform-the-differences-are-in-80980/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If there is a gay uniform, the differences are in how each man coordinates the details: the brand and cut of the jeans, the design of belts and boots, the haircut, the number and size of earrings." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-there-is-a-gay-uniform-the-differences-are-in-80980/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.









