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Creativity Quote by Barry Manilow

"Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits"

About this Quote

“Misfits aren’t misfits among other misfits” lands like a neat pop lyric because it flips the insult into a setting. Manilow isn’t offering a manifesto; he’s offering a stage direction: change the room, and the story changes. The line works because it treats “misfit” as a relative label, not a personality type. You’re not broken, you’re outnumbered.

Coming from Manilow - a mainstream hitmaker whose very brand is big sentiment delivered with polish - the subtext is quietly personal. His career sits in that strange space where mass appeal can still feel like marginality: the crooner dismissed as “uncool,” the showman whose sincerity reads as suspect in eras that prize irony. Add the historical context of his generation’s closet culture and later-life coming out, and the quote reads less like a Hallmark reassurance and more like a survival tactic: find your people; the shame evaporates when it stops being mirrored back at you.

The intent, then, is communal rather than corrective. It doesn’t ask the “misfit” to self-improve into acceptability; it asks them to reframe belonging as something you build collectively. There’s also a sly comfort in the repetition: “misfits… misfits… misfits.” By the third beat, the word loses its sting, turning into a badge. That’s pop music logic at its best - not denying pain, but giving it a chorus you can sing with others.

Quote Details

TopicFriendship
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Manilow, Barry. (2026, January 15). Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/misfits-arent-misfits-among-other-misfits-38676/

Chicago Style
Manilow, Barry. "Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/misfits-arent-misfits-among-other-misfits-38676/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/misfits-arent-misfits-among-other-misfits-38676/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

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Misfits Aren’t Misfits Among Other Misfits – Barry Manilow Quote
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About the Author

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Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943) is a Musician from USA.

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