AE: Do you think it's better for gay teens today, in terms of acceptance?
JSJ: Oh, I think it's a hundred, million percent better than what we went through. The fact that there are so many gay-straight alliances. I do get letters from kids, and they're taking their same-sex partners to the prom. All that was unimaginable 20 years ago when I was in school. And it's absolutely fantastic! But for every two steps forward, there's a step backwards. And there's so much violence on campus these days. I don't know if it's actually better, but it feels to me like we're in a better place in the world for young gay people.
AE: Did you ever imagine, back when you were just a lad in a cage at Limelight with a sign that read "Don't Feed the Drug Child," that one day you'd be a role model to all these young people?
JSJ: [Laughs.] It does seem like a sort of natural evolution to me to where I am now. By the same token, I could see why people might have trouble seeing me as "James St. James: Role Model."
AE: But do you think of yourself in those terms, as a role model?
JSJ: I've always thought that there was something about the club kids that was sort of inspiring. The whole idea of radical personal style and bending rules and breaking rules. The idea of what Michael [Alig] and I were doing with the club kids was showing people they could be as creative as they wanted. There was something positive about that. We went about it in a weird way, and it ended up going into a bad place, but it started off with positive ideals.
AE: One of the things that your book shows is how in touch you are with contemporary culture and the ways that teens tap into that culture through MySpace and blogs and podcasts. How do you think this new media is changing our culture and what it means to be a celebrity, especially for gay artists and their fans?
JSJ: I wonder if it's devaluing celebrity a little bit. If everyone can be famous, then is it as fabulous when somebody is famous? I think by the same token, then everybody can be fabulous, and that's a good thing too.
I think it's really fantastic that these little kids in Iowa have access to gay media and celebrity and get to understand it at a younger age. I know when I was 14, and I had to learn about Divine or Andy Warhol or any of those gay icons, I had to drive like two hours to Detroit and look through record bins for photos. It was a process. But it also made it a little more special when I would find a picture of Divine and I finally got to see Pink Flamingos. I don't know if having everything so readily at your fingers makes it more or less special. I do know it's a different world out there for them than it was for me.
AE: If Freak Show is made into a movie, who would you cast as Billy?
JSJ: Lindsay Lohan! Doing a girl as a guy doing a girl, and she'll get her Academy Award. And Flip is, of course, Aaron Carter, and then I'll get to meet him. No, no, no, no, no! Wait, no, oh my God, oh my God, it's [As the World Turns actor] Van Hansis. Didn't [AfterElton.com] interview him? You know I am so in love with Van! He's so beautiful, isn't he? Or he could be Billy! We should get him into drag! Then I would get to work very closely with him and show him how to be me.
AE: I have to ask about this one too, because one of our editors [Brian Juergens] has a thing about this character's name. What about Betsy Kittenplan?
JSJ: That is so funny that you picked up on Betsy Kittenplan! Because I collect names, and Betsy Kittenplan is an actual person, and she's Gwyneth Paltrow's best friend! I had read this article on Gwyneth Paltrow when she was on her way up, and she hadn't really learned how to manipulate the media yet and how to downplay what a brat she was. And she talked like this [doing an affected preppy/debutante voice]: "My best friend Betsy Kittenplan … from Spence." And I've always loved that "from Spence." I always laugh whenever I think about that.
AE: I'm going to go back and Google every name in your book. … So what are you doing for fun these days out in L.A. ? Clubbing? Dating?
JSJ: None of the above! [Laughs.] Um, sleeping. Eating pop tarts.
AE: [with dead seriousness] Which flavor?
JSJ: [with equal seriousness] Chocolate chocolate.
