In the war of words between Katy Perry and Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto, Perry got in the last salvo when she recently told the London Paper that she wasn't "impressed" with Ditto. Ditto, who was unaware of Perry's words until Spinner informed her, laughed it off ... at first. "Honestly, I could care less if Katy Perry's impressed with me," Ditto tells Spinner.

You see, it all started when Ditto -- who, with her band, is releasing a new album, 'Music for Men' next week -- was quoted calling Perry "a boner dyke," saying Perry and her hit single, 'I Kissed a Girl," were both "offensive to gay culture." While Ditto says she takes responsibility for the comment, she clarifies that the phrase "boner dyke" -- which is a term for a straight female who kisses girls to attract men -- was actually her Gossip bandmate Hannah Billie's phrase. "I feel guilty because it is such a funny expression and Hannah didn't get the credit for it," Ditto says. "But I don't feel differently than Hannah."

Ditto believes the issue is much greater than a little war of words on blogs. "It's not about Katy Perry," she says. "It's about this song and its innocence on her part. To [Katy], it's just this party song. But as a gay person, it's like, 'Oh, of course this straight person singing about kissing a girl goes straight to Top 40 and people buy this record. Who can give a f--- about real gay people?' That's what's really painful about the whole thing. That's what makes me laugh about 'I'm not impressed.' It's like, 'Oh, that's what you think? Of course, because you never thought about what a real gay person feels, and the impact that a song like that has on the gay world in a time of crucial civil rights.' That's just one of the examples of what the mainstream is thinking about queer culture, when actually, we are completely fighting for our rights right now."

Ditto is, of course, referring to the fight for gay marriage. The out singer says she's experienced firsthand the discrimination often incurred by gay couples who aren't legally protected. "I'm 28 years old," she begins. "I had surgery when I was 23. My partner was kicked out of the room -- at that time, we'd been dating for four years or something -- and in the rudest, most f---ed up way. That s--- is real, and that's what I don't think people realize. They're like, 'Oh, gay marriage.' No, you try being a really scared 23-year-old in this hospital room that's 3,000 miles from home, and the only person that you have is your partner, who can't stay because you're not married or they're not your relative. That's insane and absolutely scares me to death."

Some may argue, however, Katy Perry has helped -- even innocuously -- bring a new light to gay culture. But Ditto would like to see the Perry engage in a real conversation on the topic. "I don't care if she writes a song about kissing a girl, but there are people who kiss girls in their everyday life, and it's not as easy as just kissing a girl and everyone loving you," Ditto says. "It'd be really rad to hear her talk about something like that."

Your move, Katy.