There is no rule in the pink-triangle guide to coming out that you must wear a rainbow flag cap and organise a full band parade.

We were a small group of weirdos and baby punks and gays and free spirits who had to use our imaginations a lot. We only saw pictures and read zines, so we could only interpret the aesthetic and message of punk scenes around the world. We were basically the duck-billed platypuses of punk.

I think that for the five-year-old watching MTV right now, Lady Gaga is going to be an iconic person. In 20 years, the people who are here and talking to journalists will be like, 'Oh Lady Gaga changed my life, Nicki Minaj changed my life.' They'll be saying who influenced them and it will be Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, artists like that.

When I was a kid Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell were mere blips on the gaydar; and they were both still in the closet.

We all seek approval, and our mother's seal is usually the most important. The nitty gritty is that we have to accept ourselves, even if it is just to be ready for the next cut-down. Mom's blessing or not.

When I moved out of my mom's house at 18 I was almost as sad to leave her sewing machine behind as anything else.

I think if the world were a fair and just place, there wouldn't even need to be a gay label.