“Never once in my 54 years have I ever once heard a gay or lesbian person who’s politically active say one thing about anything that was not about them. They don’t care about minimum wage, they don’t care about any other group other than their own self because, you know, some people say that being gay and lesbian is a totally narcissistic thing and sometimes I wonder. I’ve never heard any of them say anything except for, ‘Accept me ’cause I’m gay.’ It’s just, it’s screwed. It’s no different than the evangelicals, it’s the same mindset. They want you to accept Jesus, and you guys want us to all believe it’s OK to be gay. And … I do, I don’t give a damn who anybody has sex with, as long as they’re not underage and an animal. I don’t give a damn, it’s none of my damn business. But, you know, I’m just sick of all the divisiveness, it’s not getting any of us anywhere.”

“For many Saudis, the fact that a man has sex with another man has little to do with ‘gayness.’ The act may fulfill a desire or a need, but it doesn’t constitute an identity. Nor does it strip a man of his masculinity, as long as he is in the ‘top,’ or active, role. This attitude gives Saudi men who engage in homosexual behavior a degree of freedom. But as a more Westernized notion of gayness – a notion that stresses orientation over acts –takes hold in the country, will this delicate balance survive?”

“I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is about her, but it’s pretty obvious there’s a lot of stuff going on there that isn’t real – it’s disingenuous. She sets herself up to be this mother of the world and I don’t totally buy it.”