"I saw a movie called Beautiful Thing when I was 15. I was living at home with my parents and it was on Channel 4. It was about two young lads on a housing estate who fell in love. I was watching it, my mom was upstairs and told me to go to bed, and I turned the TV off. She went to bed and I put it back on mute and I was like, “That's me. That's who I am.” It made such a difference.
Then when Queer as Folk came on in the UK, it terrified me. I remember the first episode, there was a rimming scene. I was like, “What the fuck is going on?” I had no idea what that was. It was terrifying, but so “wow!” The show felt like a light shining. I'm going to look at that light. I'm going to head towards there because that seems like a safe ground and it's going to explain all the things that are going on in me."