These people are actually, magic, and they are magic because they are living their truth.' 'They stimulated my mind, and they filled my heart with joy, and they danced with joy while doing it.
They were the most free, strong, kind, and inclusive people that I have ever met,' she said. 'These people were nothing like I had been taught to fear. But in 2008, when that song came out, I knew that it started a conversation that a lot of the world seemed curious enough to sing along to it.' Perry went on to recount how she went from 'praying the gay away at Jesus camps' to meeting 'people outside of bubble' that helped change her outlook on the rigid sexual codes of her childhood. While accepting the National Equality Award at the 2017 Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Gala, Perry opened up about coming to terms with her queer experiences after being raised in a religious environment where 'homosexuality was synonymous with the word ‘abomination.'' 'Truth be told, I did more than that!' she said in reference to her 2008 hit 'I Kissed a Girl.' 'But how was I going to reconcile that with the gospel-singing girl raised in youth groups that were pro conversion camps? What I did know was that I was curious, and even then I knew that sexuality was not as black and white as this dress.