Quotes from Jonathan Van Ness

I wish I had more of a game plan of how I'm going to, like, take down toxic masculinity. But I think that game plan is just going to reveal itself if we keep going. I think I need to keep plugging along, and it'll happen.

In service industries, we can be so people-pleaser-y that you don't know how to set your own boundaries.

To me, self-care isn't really shallow. Showing up for yourself, putting on a little moisturizer, can inspire so many different parts of your life.

When you've been on Instagram and Twitter long enough, you know how mean people can be.

I was really, really, really feminine and really into cheerleading and really into figure skating and really into gymnastics. Really into everything that other boys weren't.

Typically, you're not gonna find me out at night; I don't go to industry parties. Like, I will go sometimes if I'm invited, but usually, I'm, like, home by 11.

If I read something on the news that really irritates me, I get my rageful venting out on Twitter. I'm more of my light side on Instagram.

In yoga, we say that everyone has a magnet on them, and you're either positively or negatively charged. So if you're liking how you're looking, you're gonna be more positively charged.

I'm really big on the gym and yoga. I'm at the gym at least six days. That is just getting there and creating those endorphins and sweating. And that routine also keeps me grounded in spite of whatever my life looks like.

If I could only have one grooming tool, it would be floss. I don't want to have broken Cheetos in my teeth. To protect myself from the sun, I can find shade under a tree. To moisturize my skin, I could get really sweaty and then just rub it on myself. But how are you going to clean between your teeth without floss?

I think my ability to joke and laugh about things is because I'm forced to. I've been through a lot of things in my life that, if I didn't make light of it, I would literally keel over.

I always wanted to play with people's hair. I was really into 'The Golden Girls' and how big their hair was. I always had Barbies and Ken dolls, whose hair I wanted to play with and was always styling. I was very lucky - I never had to wonder what I was passionate about. I've always known that I'm really, really passionate about grooming.

To my younger self, I would say unless you're literally in danger, ask forgiveness instead of asking permission.

I'm the youngest of three boys. Both of the older two are very heterosexual, football-watching, married, child-rearing, cornfed Midwestern guys.

If you have body hair, I'm like, 'Have your body hair. Have it sticking up the top of your shirt.' I'm really about body positivity and self-love.

Leaving your hair down to sleep causes friction on your ends between your body heat and the pillow case. Securing the ends away from your body helps preserve your ends.

You have to create little pockets of joy in your life to take care of yourself.

Probably the advice I could follow more is the self-love sort of advice. I think, four out of every five days, I'm good at that, but certain situations can trigger self-doubt or cloudiness around how I feel about myself.

People who fundamentally disagree with you politically or socially are not bad people. I can't expect that other side to have compassion for me if I can't put myself in their shoes, too.

Men and women can be friends, and it can just be friendly.

I think, for a lot of people, men or women, it's easy to have things not affect you because, it doesn't affect you. So to be a better ally, you have to look at it as if it's someone you know instead of this abstract person you've never met.

When I moved to L.A. in my early twenties, I was growing my hair. Then, when I was 25, I cut it off and was like, 'Oh no, I think I'm a long hair person until I go bald!'

I'm from a really little town called Quincy, five hours southwest of Chicago.

I had to fight, a lot of years, to be really proud of the person I see in the mirror and really love this person.