Ryan by David Needleman / An untitled work by Ryan McGinley

McGinley moved to New York City to attend art school and soon befriended a gorgeous dominatrix/prostitute who lived upstairs from him. They hooked up a few times, but McGinley was hesitant to have sex with her. “She said, ‘If you don’t want to fuck me, you’re fucking gay,’ ” he remembers. “I was like Maybe. I don’t know.

“That night, we ended up at this after-hours,” he says, “And there was this really cute guy, Harry. She talked to him and we ended up back at hers. She said ‘I’m going to kiss Harry and you’re going to kiss me and then you’re going to kiss Harry.’ I was so nervous my mouth was bone dry and I started making out with him and that was it. This made sense! I never hooked up with a girl again.”