Frontwoman for the Gossip, Beth Ditto -- a plus-sized lesbian with a Southern drawl and a soulful howl -- challenges the skinny white-boy indie-rock canon with riot grrrl mentality and a disco backbeat. The Arkansas-born rebel rouser takes her cues from the riot grrrls before her and, along with her bandmates, has ascended from the dirt-poor Bible Belt to magazine covers, sold-out tours, major-label record deals and coveted late-night TV appearances. The band just released their first live CD/DVD, titled 'The Gossip: Live in Liverpool.'

At what age did you begin to question your sexuality?

At five. I always knew that something wasn't right. I never had a physical attraction to boys. I can know when a boy is handsome and when they are charming. I dated a boy for three years in high school. It wasn't hard for me, but it just never felt OK. But when I was five, I remember that I was afraid of God. I was certainly afraid of going to Hell.

Was your family particularly religious?

I think every family in Arkansas is religious by association because it's just everywhere. If you just drive down the street, there are these huge billboards every mile that say, "God is watching you" -- like a generic brand or something. And you'll keep driving and a mile away there will be one that says, "Are you ready?" I mean, that stuff is so real. You can't help it -- you can't escape it. It's like advertising. That is probably the most booming business in Arkansas besides Wal-Mart.

Do you remember your first girl crush?

That's really difficult, because I think in retrospect, I was really upset about it but I didn't know why. You'll talk to a lot of gay people about it -- that feeling where you get so mad when your friends who were girls had boyfriends but not understanding why. You're like, 'Why aren't you hanging out with me now?' Well, one of my friends married my brother, and it was really upsetting for me. I was like 15 or 16 when this happened, but I was so upset and I didn't understand why. And that was [because I was gay], I think. That happened with a lot of my friends. It wasn't like I was picturing them naked in the shower, but I would get this really weird possessiveness over them. I didn't act on it. That was it. And I had a crush on our first drummer for a really long time.