"One of the great things about being gay," Perry said in a 2001 interview with Genre, "is that it frees you to be different. I mean, you're an outcast already. So screw it! Enjoy it! Make it up!" And enjoy it he does, whether he's trying to lose weight, auctioning his underwear, hijacking the Oscars, flossing his cat, or setting people on fire-accidentally, he swears! Perry's outlook is so refreshing, so filled with joie de vivre, that his big, messy gay life becomes a celebration we all want to take part in. Joel Perry is a writer whose work has appeared in Frontiers and The Advocate. He is a contributing editor for Instinct, is the author of Funny That Way, and coauthor of Going Down: The Instinct Guide to Oral Sex. He lives in Los Angeles.