Beth Ditto Quotes

I was born fat and have always been, which was just fine and even healthy and cute until I turned ten or so. Puberty hit like a hurricane and brought a new set of rules. All of a sudden it was my fault I was chubby.

You live in this shadow that you‘re going to burn in Hell until you’re saved. And I still worry about it a little. I don’t believe in Heaven, but I do still fear Hell.

I’m passionate about color. My best friend and I sit and look at Pantone books for fun.

When I am made fun of in the press I just remember those days when I’d come home to find that the water had been turned off because my mother couldn’t afford the bill. Suddenly, everything feels easier.

I worshipped Ethel Merman and I worshipped Ethel Merman a lot. It’s incredible – Ethel Merman was a conventional singer. Her naming her child Ethel Merman, Jr., was, to me, one of the coolest feminist things.

I’m a great believer in karma, and the vengeance that it serves up to those who are deliberately mean is generally enough for me.

If you have a therapist who agrees with your every word, then your brain isn’t getting proper exercise.

Because I didn’t have any queer, lesbian, female role models I hated my own femininity and had to look deep within myself to create an identity that worked for me. Pop culture just doesn’t hand us enough variety to choose from.

Why wear pants when you can wear a muumuu?

There is something to be said for people who have to work hard, be creative, produce what they have with little – or no – means. Those of us from poor homes have the advantage of thinking for ourselves and of knowing that when times get hard, things could always be worse.

I certainly know first hand the waste one lady can create through her primping routine, because I am a victim of fashion: to me a day without makeup and a bouffant to match is a day wasted. I love it all – whether it’s fancy, cheap or, I’m ashamed to say, even if it’s bad for the environment.

As with most phobias, the fear of flying does make some sense, but if ever there was a fear worth quashing then this is it. After all, life is short, and there’s a great big world to explore out there.

I was always being told off at school. The teachers would say: ‘Everyone‘s talking, but you’re the one I can hear.’

I have been 130 lbs. as well as 215 lbs. I have had blond, strawberry blond, green, pink and purple hair, and none of that has ever exempted me from having lewd comments flung at me in the street.

I’m 90% performer, 10% musician. I’ve always said that Gossip are a band I would go see, not a band I would listen to.

I’m constantly thinking about what I’ll do next. I never count on music being a career of longevity. I mean, longevity is key, and I hope that it lasts, but you just don’t know, because it’s not in your hands, you don’t make the decision.

I thought to be feminine was to give in to straight culture, or the beauty standard, but in my heart I had a flair for fashion and style. They were passions I kept secret because I didn’t understand I could love clothes and hair and makeup and still like girls.

My number-one theory in life is that style is proportional to your lack of resources – the less you have, the more stylish you’re likely to be.

ABBA was a direct influence on me.

I don’t have a good attention span and can’t spend long in record stores or video shops or games emporiums without getting grumpy.

I’ve belched a lot more since I had gall bladder surgery. I don’t know why.

With a stretch belt, anything can be a dress – a dinner napkin, a tablecloth, even a towel. Just wrap and snap, and away you go in an incredible outfit. Another plus is that the belt will pull all eyes to your lovely curves, and they even look good around a coat or a jacket.

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.

A few years back, when my style was ‘punk grandma,’ I picked up an amazing pair of sandals – orthopaedic ones, with really thick soles. I’ve given them away to a friend now, because these days my look is more ‘1980s substitute teacher gone wild.’

For me the greatest revenge of all is having a happy adulthood, waking up in my gorgeous turquoise bedroom in the morning beside a person who really inspires me. That’s the best revenge a girl-loving girl from the Bible belt could possibly have. And, importantly, it’s healthy.

All this fashion stuff – who’s cool now – is just a bigger version of the cool kids versus the nerds.

Even talking, I’m super-loud. I could never have that kind of meek, little wispy whimsical lavender and lace voice. It comes from my body. There’s no way I can fight it.

Just like my straight friends, I am repeatedly asked when I plan to have kids, and have been told many times, by various branches of my bloodline, that ‘even lesbians can have babies these days.’

As a kid, I was always mad – just noticing the women at Thanksgiving, running around the kitchen, while the men were watching football. For one, I don’t want to cook, and for two, I hate football. I was stuck in the middle.

Even if you’re only wearing trainers and a vest, eyeliner will instantly transform you. People always look put-together when their make-up’s on and their eyes are popping – just ask Amy Winehouse!

My mother told me Homer Ditto was not my father. Nope. Mom had had a fling with some other guy who was my dad. Some dude who didn’t stick around too long who Mom was happy to get rid of. She chose Homer, and Homer chose me, so he lent me his name even though I didn’t have his blood.

For my group of friends is Lady Gaga eye-opening? No. She’s a less dangerous version of what was so cool about pop culture in the ’80s. Back then it was so gay and so punk in so many ways.

I believe I owe all the best parts of my adulthood to embracing my imperfections and showcasing them.

There is no shame like poor shame. It can make you warm and charming, bitter and resentful, all at once.

I was given baby doll toys myself, and they proved a stark reminder that my life was expected to revolve around childbearing – just as my mom‘s had before me, and her mom’s had before her.

When you see a fantastic colour or cut in a magazine, perched up on some famous so-and-so’s head, it’s tempting to ask your stylist for the same, but do not be fooled. The hair in those fancy photos can be very high maintenance.

I shave my body in all kinds of ways, wear tons of eyeliner and dye my hair pink.

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.

My life hasn’t been conventional and it hasn’t been linear. I’ve had to make it up as I’ve gone along, which has taught me a lot. If you don’t accept the obvious options that are laid out for you, it’s up to you to work out where you’re going and to create your own specific rules and goals.

My size has helped make me an amazing performer too. The cliche of the Funny Fat Friend: I absolutely was that character – I am that character… It’s a complicated bag of tools I acquired, and I’ve put them all to work onstage.