As you might have noticed from the deluge of traffic slowing down the site this week, the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List is a big hit — both with lesbian/bisexual women, and the rest of the world. People have been coming from miles around to see who the lesbians think are hot, and for the most part, the reception's been pretty positive, even though almost no one agrees with all the women on the list. I for one would only have put one of these three women on the list — can you guess which one? (Here's a hint: her name rhymes with "Sarah Shahi.")
There was a negative comment made by a straight guy named Jeff on our list, and AfterEllen.com reader ysubassoon posted a very funny reply entitled "We are under no obligation to cater to you" (her title alone made me laugh) that started off with this paragraph:
Jeff, you're obviously new here, so perhaps there are some things about this site that you just haven't realized yet. This is a site by and for lesbian and bisexual women.; it is not by straight men for straight men, about lesbian and bisexual women. It is one of the few places on the Internet that is under no obligation to make sure that you (i.e. heterosexual males) are pleased with its content. If you aren't happy with what you see here, take your insults and your complaints to another site where they are wanted. We will flourish here with or without you.
Ysubassoon is right, of course — while we welcome straight readers on AfterEllen.com, we care primarily about what lesbian and bi women think — but nonetheless, I've found it interesting to watch the reception the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List has been getting outside of the AfterEllen.com community. It's been heartening to discover that quite a lot of straight men agree with the women you all chose, and often even prefer them over the women on Maxim's list.
I've kept track of some of the more interesting, encouraging, and amusing comments made by straight men (they're straight men as far as I can tell, anyway) about our list, and I'm providing them here for your amusement, complete with original spelling mistakes:
Wow, this list IS way better than Maxim's top 100. I can't stand Lohan, I don't find her very attractive and am still scratching my head trying to figure out how her skank ass got on top? Do lesbians have better taste in women than the typical man?
Reply: Yes. [link]
good job lesbians! your top 100 list rules! [link]
Ok lesbians at AfterEllen.com, we get it. You love Angelina Jolie; you even awarded her the #2 position in your version of Maxim’s Hot 100 list. I admit she was hot for a while, but don’t you get bored with her humanitarian carryings-on in Eastern Europe, Africa and Cambodia? [link]
Maxim's list could be renamed "Women men would like to f--k" where the women's list would be named "Women women would like to date". The AfterEllen list has a lot of women on it who are accomplished, or show feminine strength. A lot of the women were probably on Maxim's list at one point, but even out of the spotlight, the women still pine for them. Which brings us back to the obvious, women are experience driven. They crave strong experienced personalities. I think 20 years ago Jodi Foster probably could have been on the Maxim list, but now she's on the AfterEllen list. Perfect example of a strong successful personality. Lesbien or straight, women crave the same things. [link]
I do encourage everyone to look at The Lesbian Hot 100 List via AfterEllen.com, because it does open the hetero male’s eyes to alot of hotties that we may otherwise not be exposed to. [link]
[responding to a commenter who said all the women on our list were "manly"] The Maxim guys tended to pick cutely-hot, bubbly, girly girls (seriously, dude, Linsday Lohan won, need I say more?). The AfterEllen list tends to be populated by strong, confident, powerful women. Nothing manly about them, unless you live in Crazy 1950s World where strength and confidence are the exclusive province of men. I do think it's a very interesting litmus test of what people find sexy in women; but then, I also find interesting how many guys are agreeing more with the lesbians' list than the Maxim list. [link]
It’s interesting to see the difference between what women and men find attractive. I think it’s safe to say women have much better taste in women than men do. [link]
i’ll have to tell my good friend, barb, aunt of elizabeth mitchel, that her niece made the top 20. i doubt that she’ll be pleased. [link]
Their top 10 is admirable, although I must admit that I haven’t heard of the majority of these chicks. [link]
Of course Salma Hayek is there. Pretty, great natural body, smart. If only she knew how to code [software].
Reply: why? so they can make fun of you for the worthless code you write? not me.. i like them smart in their own areas, and amazed that i can figure this "complicated" stuff out.
Reply: I like them smart in their own areas so that I get to find out interesting new stuff. [link]
It's another Hot 100 List! But this time, it's which actresses lesbians think are hot, in which you will mutter to yourself, "yeah, I can see that." [link]
Wow, Jessica Alba as # 38? Even with that, I guess lesbians have similar tastes to men. Some good choices there, i must say! Edit- Queen Latifah? Meryl Streep? I guess lesbians are kinda different. [link]
If liking Tina Fey and Kate Winslet makes me a lesbian, then I am a raging lesbian! [link]
So about a month ago, maxim put out their hot100 list. I did not agree with a great deal of things about it. I especialy didnt agree with lindsay lohan being number one. Low and behold today, I find another top 100 list while I was checking out www.afterellen.com (yes its a lesbian site, yes i go there to read the articles, if you dont like it suck a d--k, I like two of the columnists) and I found the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 list. I, apparently, have a very lesbian taste in women. because I have been saying that some of these women needed to be in the top 100 for a while now. The list includes women who I think are just absurdly hot (Alyson Hannigan, Clea DuVall, Mandy Musgrave, Parker Posey and Tina Fay) but have been looked over way too much in other lists. I wonder what that says about me? [link]
It's about damn time that a lesbian organization has finally gotten the balls to put together a “hottest chicks” list. And they did a much, much better job than Maxim did. Bravo, kudos and two thumbs up (way up) for AfterEllen.com. [link]
Chalk me down as a lesbian, as I agree with this list much more than the lads mags’ annual cloned-bimbo-fest. More variety on show here, and frankly, more interesting women. Some oldies maybe, but thats not always a bad thing people. [link]
Lesbians are kind of dumb. The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List puts Katee Sackhoff at #84. 84!? She was beaten out by, among others, coke hound and habitual DUIist Lindsay Lohan, Carmen Electra who is made up almost completely of silicon and collagen (I mean, goddamn, she’s nearly a cyborg), Katherine Heigl… ummm that one may be OK, and Kiera Knightly who only looks good in the picture because the clothes are covering up her bony, anorexic protrusions. C’mon! PS I would have also complained about Michelle Rodriguez but she just flat-out scares me. [link]
So what can we take away from these insightful observations?
1) straight men and lesbians may have a lot more in common than we think when it comes to women
2) a lot of straight men can't spell (but then neither can a lot of women I know, gay or straight, including me when I've been up all night)
3) Carmen Electra is a cyborg, and Michelle Rodriguez is scary. But then, we knew that already.
Ha.
Too funny!
Thanks again to everyone behind-the-scenes who worked diligently to put this list together...looks like it's a hit with everyone.
Also...not to get all Max on you, but hopefully in advance of next year's list (this'll be an annual thing, right?), I suggest building a polling database whose data you can extract with Excel to help count the results. I can't imagine how tedious it was to count all those entries.
Word with the polling
Heh.
Ummm...I think my head exploded after seeing that Sarah Shahi picture. Hot!
"I think it’s safe to say women have much better taste in women than men do." - Word.
And Boo to the Angelina Jolie comment! She's still hot plus the humanitarian efforts.
Oh yeah and to the person that said "lesbians are kind of dumb" for putting Lindsay Lohan over Katee Sackhoff, who put Lindsay Lohan at number 1 on Maxim?!
So amusing.
Oh dear!
In the larger context of the blog entry in which I made those comments on Mrs. Jolie, I made it clear that most of what I was saying was satirical in nature. Go check it out under "I'm tired of her and her snakes." entry That's what I'm trying to work with, the absurd! I dig humanitarians! I hope to be one someday!
Oh, I'm as gay as the day is long, so I was misrepresented as straight in this entry! I'm not upset though.
snoochie-boochies!
Interesting.
Perhaps this should be a yearly thing?
EDIT - I just finished reading BLWE. It is going to be a yearly thing. Yay!
~It means pride.~
Hell, if it weren't for you
Hell, if it weren't for you guys having to count all the votes (which I can imagine is painful and torturous) I'd love to have a weekly list...or daily...or hourly - now that I think about it you guys should figure out a way to text us if there's a new hottie on the loose
You know - just makin' some suggestions :)
lesbians' hotties
Hmmm.... and yet somehow I'm not surprised about it...
Edit: Oh, and she was 16 while i was like 13 or 12 I think :) Oh and can't forget I like it when the lady is TALLER than ME!
Yay exposure!
Yes, exposure is perfect!
lesbian without borders
Not enough color
Thanks For The Link and The List
Thanks for the link to my crap blog!! I didn't think anyone would even notice my Maxim v AfterEllen post.
Anyhew, this is me:
I really do like your list, but from a straight male's POV, its hard to associate "sexy" with women that are past the age of 40 or so, unless you happen to be up in that demographic. Example, "The Graduate" overtly shows the inherent sex appeal of a lonely older woman, but Anne Bancroft wasn't exactly in that "hip replacement is in my immediate future" age range (in the movie).
Sorry about the Helen Mirren dig, but the only dude's I know who think she's sexy, look at crazy fetish pr0n sites that make me afwaid of the internets. She does have a sweet tat on her hand though, it's the blade and the chalice right between her thumb and forefinger.
Maxims list has its HUGE faults as well. Lindsay Lohan as number 1 being just pure D wrong, and Angelina Jolie not in the top ten is an even more agregious sin.
So that's really why I had to give the lists a tie. They both have their little piccadillos that make them equally nice to look at. And that's what we are really talking about here, women that exhibit that certain something that makes them great representatives of the beauty and sexyness inherent in the female form.
Mad props for including: Tina Fey, Kate Winslet, Salma Hayek, Sarah Shahi, Michelle Rodriguez and loads of other hotties, especially the ones I never even knew existed. BTW- Angelina at number 2, SWEETNESS!!1!!1
Oh, ummm, I hope its not offensive to refer to your Top 100 as the Lesbian/Lezzy list. SRSLY - No disrespect intended. It's just that the word "Lesbian" can drive ALOT of traffic. We straight dudes love the lipstick lesbian fantasy, even if it doesn't really exist beyond College parties.
Anyhew, thanks for the great list, and the whole noticeing that my blog exists thing. I am sure my readers will look forward to next year's list from AfterEllen (congrats on that as well), I know I will!!
L8s M8s,
TRDQ
Almost forgot. No, I can't spell to save my life.
Top 100
yay, meks me proud to know
yay, meks me proud to know we have better taste in women. lolz.
definitely one of the hawtest lists i've come across. :)
gah, i LOVE afterellen
this should definitely be a yrly thing. LUVS it.
+stephlikewhoa+
*I need someone to bring color to my world*
Not too surprised.
I know that my straight male friends would probably agree more with the Afterellen list than the Maxim list, though they may be confused by Meryl Streep's inclusion (why? She's beautiful and amazing!). I don't mind girls that get their fame from being buxom or giggly - good for them, but they shouldn't be the sole inhabitants of a hot list while intelligent, strong and attractive women that don't fit that mold are left out. I don't know what's up with Maxim's voting system but, unsurprisingly, straight men do agree with us in a lot of cases.
I still can't get over Lindsay Lohan being at the top... ew. The same man must have voted a thousand times on Maxim... I can't get my head around a lot of people voting her as hottest, I just can't.
I also think Carmen Electra deserved to be on the list... I can't help myself! She's hot (and lesbian-friendly)!
__________________
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Thud!
Sorry, that was the sound of me fainting again; this time at the lovely picture of Sarah Shahi. What a delightful surprise on a cold winter's Friday night (where I am, anyway). Lordy! I'm coming over all queer again...
And can I just throw this one out there as a general question to the universe? Is it just me or does it seem like there's more men hanging around this site than before? And why? Call me a a big ol' dyke (because I am) but why the f*$# are they here? And why on earth is any of them posting comments? I couldn't give two hoots what they think about anything on this site, but I sure hate the idea of them shoving their oars in. Can we please ask them to go away now or frankly I might just have to leave and find another place to hang...
Not Only But Also
I'm w/ ya
Wondering
I also noticed a big influx of straight males here since the list and I am just wondering how many lesbians started visiting/buying maxim just because of a list of hot women?
Call me a cynic, call me an optimist, but I am betting not many if any at all! Perhaps still quite a big difference between straight men and lesbian women?
Just a theory!
"call me old fashioned but I prefer feminism that leaves a little something to the imagination!"
Thrilled!
what straight men think..........
my care factor is zero
but
love the women on the list;
love the women on this site
SLOOOOOOOW
scared
I'm just scared that all these straight guys will be voting next year!
Goodbye Hot 100 list made by women!!
Seriously!!!!
This is not really a reply but the comments box comes and goes and in this instance it's gone...
Sarah, Scribe, Malinda, Karman (and all others)... I am very SERIOUS when I state these:
1) I am truly grateful for all of the work that you guys put in and the speed with which you took our suggestions to heart, I can't say that enough. Now having said that for the umpteenth time, I must voice the following;
2) I am extremely pleased that the list is getting exposure, especially with all that was put in, I was one of the first to mention/hope for this.
3) I am gravely concerned though about the people who are viewing this list. Now let me elaborate.... it's not the "individuals" and I am referring to straight men especially that I'm concerned about, it's more the impact that these "individuals" will have on the authenticity (will our list be by US? Will it be a depiction of what we think?) of any AE Hot 100 List that will follow.
I am feeling very disheartened based on the comments made and I doubt very much that i'll be participating in any other further list. It was truly an honor to be a part of this one. It is evident that the site was extremely slow yesterday because of all the other people who were viewing the list. I had to close and reopen my browser so many times that it was frustrating but all along I was writing it off to other members (now i know differently).
As someone stated yesterday, 'Democracy Is A Bitch'.
This would be my contribution for today. After getting COMPLETELY HIGH off of the MISSY PICK, I've now gone to the other extreme - BORDERING ON DEPRESSION!! There goes my 'heady' friday. Guess I'll go look at Missy's pic once more to see if any vitality can be restored to my disheartened mood!
Peace and Love to All
Don't worry!!!
lesbian without borders
back up a second.
There are straight men reading the site?
on purpose?
i thought i was the only one...
Well...heh...
wtf
oh man
>> can we just ignore MALES if AE can't stop them from posting or registering as AE members?
~ the only time that i can talk is when i got nothing to say. well iI agree! I think we should
I agree! I think we should ignore them in exactly the same fashion many straight people ignore gays!
"call me old fashioned but I prefer feminism that leaves a little something to the imagination!"
Oh, COME ON! You know, I'm
Sarcasm is often hard to
Sarcasm is often hard to bring across on the internet but for an extended discussion on the various sentiments concerning (straight) guys on this site I would suggest you read the thread in the introductions section called "guys are welcome..." It has been closed but does give a nice range of emotions on the subject!
( hope I am not out of line refering to said thread!?)
"call me old fashioned but I prefer feminism that leaves a little something to the imagination!"
sarcasm donde?
Re: I agree! I think we should
I am completely in agreement with people here. I don't understand what straight people (men and women) are doing on this site. And i certainly don't understand the need for them to constantly butt in where they are not wanted. Can't we have just have one site to ourselves without heteros interfering? I mean they've infiltrated just about every lesbian site on the net, and you would think at least this one would be safe. But obviously it's not. I believe there should be a screening process here, or at least a trial period for non gay people on this site. Maybe they feel the hetero privelege that society has bestowed upon them isn't enough and they want want to infringe upon the few places that we actually have a voice.
Can we at least have a democratic poll on the topic?
Group Think
I don't think they're the same thing. At least not for me. Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep are beautiful, but I don't think they're hot. Of course, a woman can be both beautiful and hot...which is just like double bonus points!
I think it's great that straight men are looking at the list. I think when we separate ourselves we get into a little group think. You know "Well everyone in my group thinks this girl is hot, so there must be something wrong with me if I don't."
It's just human nature. Plus the media is always telling us who we should think is hot. Lindsay Lohan is a product of that group think. "You're not a man if you don't think she's hot!" blah blah blah Well, we're not men so we can make our own list without that pressure.
Why is that important? It breaks the group think. Girls see that Maxim list and think that's what guys want and soon enough we've got a whole bunch of Lindsay Lohan wannabees running around. And honestly I don't think that's what men or women want. (okay, some do...but I really don't think a majority.)
On the flip side, we could fall into group think here too.
Quote:can we just ignore
Less than Zero
the smokin' elderly
Sorry about the Helen Mirren dig, but the only dude's I know who think she's sexy, look at crazy fetish pr0n sites that make me afwaid of the internets. She does have a sweet tat on her hand though, it's the blade and the chalice right between her thumb and forefinger.
Okay, there is NO WAY you can't see how incredibly hot Helen Mirren is. Argh, it makes me so angry that older women (40???) are still viewed as tainted goods, when men apparently only improve with age. Everyone jump on the MILF bandwagon already!!!
No but seriously. I say props to anyone who ages gracefully and refuses to become a reassuring/non-sexually threatening "elder" after getting their first couple grey hairs. Mirren is one, Meryl Streep is one, and so are Diane Keaton (though didn't she get Botoxed lately???) Genevieve Bujold, Clint Eastwood, Quebec filmmaker Micheline Lanctot, Ian McShane... I could go on-though without including either Richard Gere or Sean Connery. Coz you know, they're just... ewww.
And yeah, Mrs. Robinson was hot.
I'd hop on that bandwagon
welcome aboard!
Yes.
Aged to Perfection
Personally, as a lesbian in her early twenties, I don't really see women over 40 or 50 as women I want to sleep with right now. Instead, I see them as the kind of women I want to be sleeping with when I'm 40 or 50. Not only are they very physically attractive, they are cool and all getout. It just seems weird, though, to fantasize about women my mother's age. This may be an example of the whole "List of women women want to date" as opposed to "list of women men want to f*uck."
Although Helen Mirren is a bad example, I'd welcome her into my bed yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Ms. Lane
Awwww, Diane Lane in the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"....
Just to see her smile.
So it's MEN gumming up the works...
Ok.
Breaking out of lurking to say
The Angelina Jolie comment's so amusing. I think such dedication on her part makes her even hotter! I do love how straight people have visited our site! The visibility we reap from the list, I think, is fantastic.
And the list deserves the attention. Here's a pretty awesome straight-guy quote I found at reddit:
"One interesting departure from most "Hot 100" lists of women is that the photos of this one were primarily of the womens faces rather than their bodies."
http://reddit.com/info/1wbx8/comments?offset=1
I'll ring a bell...
...when I go into satirical mode while speaking of Mrs. Jolie from now on! Check out the full context of my comments on her in my blog. I even dig on her Benneton-esque family planning and her Darfur-exia...
snoochie-boochies!
Do! Bells, bells, bells....... it'd be fun.
And, else, I'd be afraid for your sake when it comes to Angelina Jolie. I see that you know it but... satire, huh? Satire's very nature is to censure, to create and draw ridicule to something under the guise of approval, right? Well, that ridiculed something isn't gonna be Angelina -- not with every approving note turned sour. Oh, no no no, darling. haha.
Anyways, it seems that with me the voice of the narrator and the ego of the writer tend to be fused together on a close reading. Thank you for clearing it up, and I'm glad I read your above comment here. Gay and humanitarian(ish at least), with a gracious view of that misrepresentation? Yay! (and as a part of this community, sorry about that). Keep up that writing!
Wow
I don't quite know which person to respond to so I'll just respond to them all -
It doesn't make sense to me why some people on here are angry that straight men and women visit the site and more so don't want them allowed here at all. We pride ourselves on diversity and open-mindedness and perhaps that's why I was so shocked to see such examples of straight discrimination (yes, believe it or not - that's what it was)
Are we any better than the prejudice and intolerant people who don't accept us when we want to "ignore" or "ban" them from a website that is becoming a powerful microphone for the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community?
If they are here, and we know they are, obviously they are not the conservative extremists who want to rid us from the earth. Yeah, they might want to look at 100 hot girls and they might have their heterosexual opinions but they also just might learn some valuable things that may open their eyes to the misconceptions of our community.
It doesn't matter if the gay community accepts the gay community - it's a given that we already do. But prejudice will cease to be when everyone (especially heterosexuals) accepts us. And I don't think hating them for their sexual orientation is any better than them hating us for our. I personally thought we were better than that.
So basically I want them here. I want straight men and women to be exposed to our experiences. I want them to see that we're not going to destroy America's values and realize just how hard it is for us to find our happy ending in today's world. I want them to open the minds of their friends and families. Because we will go nowhere if we hide away in our safe little corner trying to fight off the heterosexual "interference".
We can't ask everyone else to do something we are not willing to do ourselves - and that's accepting others.
(This was not written to attack anyone, rather just a response to state my opinion. Please do not take offense to any of it but deeply consider what I've written. Thank you.)
- Stacy
Wow indeed.