Quotes by Beth Ditto

Under the whole personal is political motto of feminism, I feel that personal kindness, treating people decently, is political-is punk.

When you see a fantastic colour or cut in a magazine, perched up on some famous so-and-sos head, its 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 dont feel famous and I didnt want my autobiography to be like a Paris Hilton story.

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

When I was a teenager I would lock myself in the bathroom for hours, bouffanting my hair like Patty Duke and trying to recreate Barbra Streisands flawless eyeliner, only to comb it all out and wash it all off before stepping out into the world a butchish bisexual teen.

Here is my prescription to heal all wounds. Watch the film Funny Girl at least five times, eat at least 45 chocolate bars, and hang out with all those friends you blew off to hang out with your ex. I truly believe that, through a combination of Nutella, old pals and Barbra Streisand, we can achieve happiness and, very probably, world peace.

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. Thats the best revenge a girl-loving girl from the Bible belt could possibly have. And, importantly, its healthy.

I have no control over what people think of me but I have 100% control of what I think of myself, and that is so important. And not just about your body, but so many ways of confidence. Youre constantly learning how to be confident, arent you?

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 theres a great big world to explore out there.

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 dont want to cook, and for two, I hate football. I was stuck in the middle.

I was born to be married. I just feel comfortable there. I love the idea of being partnered for ever. I love my girlfriend, weve been best friends since I was 18. Theres not a thing we havent been through except for marriage... Weve had talks about what we would name our kids since we were in our 20s.

Thanks to capitalism, the importance placed on beauty has never been so manipulated. We are the guinea pigs force-fed ads that tell us how pathetic we are: that we will never be loved, happy or valuable unless we have the body, the face, the hair, even the personality that will apparently be ours, if only we buy their products.

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

I love sad songs. They say so much. I love country music but even the happy songs sound really sad.

Aretha Franklin was a teenage mom, a musician who came from an incredibly Christian background, but there was a lot of love, which is really inspiring in a feminist way.

My dad liked to boil a squirrel head and suck the brains out the nose. Smaller than a chicken, bigger than a rat.