About This Quote

In this quote, Oscar Wilde is pointing out that it’s not fair to blame someone for something that that person has not done. He is referring to the fact that people often take the words of others and ascribe to them something they have not really said. He is saying here that “pretty and gay” are not qualities you can ascribe to a man simply because he is a homosexual. Rather, a man who is truly homosexual might be both pretty and gay, but they are qualities that exist within a person.

In other words, when someone says they are gay, they don’t actually mean that they are “gay” which means that they are attracted to members of the same sex. Rather, they mean that they like having fun and enjoying life in general which, of course, includes men. So, while it might be unfair at times to assume that someone is gay because you assumed they were saying something else when in fact they meant another thing altogether, it can still be unfair to assume something bad of someone for something out of their control.

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