says it with the stickers on her guitar, she has it blaring in her songs and puts it out there in her tats...she challenges the debate of using the L-Word or playing the tease factor...she has supported great causes and supported other girls/women in rock/punk...she is a rock goddess...JOAN JETT...

www.myspace.com/lostactionfigure

2 people came to my mind right away.

Angela Robinson is doing such a fantastic job for our community. She also wrote and directed DEBS and the best episodes of The L Word in season 5. That pot party scene was excellent.

But the one person I admire and respect most is definetly Sarah Warn. Without her we would not have AfterEllen.com. This site has helped so many people and it's because of her genius to help bring us together.

I have a number of lesbians/bi women i could mention that I respect, admire and look up to. Of course you've got all the out and proud people like  Ellen, Melissa, Rosie, The Indigo girls, Tegan and Sara....and many more. Then you've got those who have gone through many obstacles and are paving the way forward like Jodie Foster. Then there are so many TV/movie Characters i could name (Bette from the L word) and historical figures, like Marlene Dietrich, who didn't have it easy, but tried the best she could at the time to live her life free from the social expectations of the time. Her words, dangerously spoken in the 50s kind of affirmed her lesbian identity eg. " Please try to be gay tonight as I know it is so difficult to be gay in the morning.” She was anti-fascist, a lesbian, a gay icon and so much more.  

Then as some have mentioned, Sarah Warn and all the bloggers/vbloggers here trying to increase visibility.

Also, all my lesbian/bi friends in real life and online. Especially on this site. I respect and  admire you all so much (not because you're my friends);)  but because from your posts i can tell that you are all kind, caring, sensitive and friendly people. The type of people I would be privileged and honored to know in real life.

Definitely agree about Leibug. She's an awesome person and all her posts are so insightful, thoughtful and interesting. I only hope to one day reach such posting fame. And if I could be 1/10 as thoughtful, intelligent and inspiring as she is..i would be very happy with myself. I'd also add pirategrrrl and gypsywee to the list of prolific interesting and insightful AE posters. Both have nearly 1000 posts. It would probably take me a couple of years to get that. ;)

Much love and respect

incurablygay

I'd say on the grass roots level there are many lesbian activists that I am inspired by, who fight homophobia and discrimination. I recently came across this particular activist, Fanny Ann Eddy (d 2004) who was an lgbt activist in Sierra Leone. She was the founder of the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association.  

A bit about her

http://www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/history/fannyanneddy.htm

Fanny Ann Eddy the founder of the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association (SLLAGA) was brutally raped and murdered in her office on the 28/29 September 2004. She had spent time in Southern Africa as a refugee from hostilities in Seirra Leone where she used her time to learn how to ‘mobilise in a hostile environment’ This is what she did on her return home, setting up SLLAGA.

Fanny Ann made a submission to the UN Committee on Human rights at the Geneva meeting in April 2004 which discussed the Brazilian Resolution, which would have acknowledged sexual orientation as a legitimate human right. In her presentation she highlighted the violence and state-sponsored oppression that lesbian and gay people face in many parts of Africa. She concluded:

"Silence creates vulnerability. You, members of the Commission on Human Rights, can break the silence. You can acknowledge that we exist, throughout Africa and on every continent, and that human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity are committed every day. You can help us combat those violations and achieve our full rights and freedoms, in every society, including my beloved Sierra

When asked what her dreams were in an interview she replied:

"My dreams! I hope to see more women being liberated or stand for what they believe in and hope to see a universe free of discrimination, torture and violence."

Other activists include Nastya "Vdova", a Russian activist, who maintain activism even under hostile conditions

 http://www.thegully.com/essays/russia/040513_lesbian_ru_intervie.html

Then there are many who fight for lgbt rights everyday but are scarcely acknowledged and break new ground for all gay couples in the process.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/obituaries/20partner.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Then there are many lesbians in many countries who have had their voices silenced and their identity hidden throughout history.

 http://www.thegully.com/essays/gaymundo/050128_ukraine_queer_lit.html

here are a couple.

Ukraine

A major poet, Lesya Ukrayinka (1871-1913) was a lesbian, a fact that it is just now being acknowledged, following scholar Svetlana Saliy ground-breaking analysis of her biography, her poetry and her last letter to her female lover from Egypt, where she had travelled seeking a cure for tuberculosis.

Then you have some lesser known out comedians/public figures for whom the process of discovery and the journey to acceptance of their orientation, due to various factors isn't easy. Urvashi Vaid, a Indian-American gay rights activist and partner of Kate Clinton being one. Another lesser known figure is comedian Sapna Kumar, an out  Indian American lesbian, who relates her experiences as a minority within a minority in a hilarious way through her comedy shows.

One of the first out lesbian therapists, Betty Berzon, is another person i admire. She also wrote a ground breaking bestseller named Permanent Partners: Building Gay and Lesbian Relationships that Last , which admittedly i haven't read yet. But will soon.

I mean, once we scratch the surface there are many,many lesbians/bi women who have done so much  for the lgbt community and society who are not getting the recognition they deserve.

Crystal Kimmey, a lesbian cowgrirl, a talented veteran of the gay and lesbian rodeo circuit, who is not getting recognition for her obvious talent due to a mixture of sexism and homophobia.

http://www.villagevoice.com/people/0549,sanchez,70735,24.html

 Does anyone here have a "constant craving" to see more of k.d lang around the place.  :) She's an awesome singer. I can't wait till she tours again.

I forgot to mention k.d. Lang. She totally rocks !!!!

Thanks incurablygay for all that information you mentioned alot of great people who are doing amazing work. Of course you are right about people in the past and how much harder it was for them. Take Dusty Springfield for example for her to even say in the 70s that she was bi was a big deal. Some of the other prolific forum posters you mentioned i love too. They always have something informative and interesting to say and i always enjoy reading their comments and opinions. Also thanks for the kd lang pics, what a voice. She has this great charisma/vibe/energy thing that you can even get from just looking at the pics. Oh and I forgot to mention one of my all time heroes: Martina Navartilova. I've been watching wimbledon from the age of 3/4 and i don't usually cheer for the person who has already won loads but i always wanted her to win.

to our own destinations of idenitity.  The past should be remembered such as Lorde,  the present  we live now such as Ellen,Sarah W, Hanifah,etc and the future we shall look forward to,which could be any of you all.  Way too many  other "GREATS" to mention. It'll take a gonizillion posts. I adore this topic and your answers.

Gertrude Stein famous writer and her partner Alice B. Toklas, Rita Mae Brown and Sarah Waters (gotta love the gal that brought us Fingersmith, Tipping the Velvet and Affinity); Cris Williamson pioneer of lesbian music; Sue Wicks former WNBA player and Sheryl Swoopes 3 time gold medal winner in the Olympics and 3 time MVP in the WNBA; Billy Jean King and Martina Navratilova; Ellen, Suzanne Westenhoefer and Kate Clinton (of course our own Bridget Mcmanus now) gotta love the funny ladies!; Nancylee Myatt love her writing in South of Nowhere and 3Way and all her actresses on 3 Way; Sarah Warn for this fantastic site!; Actresses Jodie Foster, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Nixon...also the Lword girls Leisha Hailey, Sarah Sahi Daniela Steel, Michelle Wolff from Dante's Cove and Michelle Paradise for Exes & Ohs; Music the list could go on but I'll say Joan Jett, Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, K.D., Janis Ian, Janis Joplin and Sophie B. Hawkins; Eleanor Roosevelt had a female lover, Lorena Hickok, for years while being married to the president Franklin D. Roosevelt; and to round off my list Marlene Dietrich!

And as for me...*waves*...err...thanks! ;-p

and I don't know many lesbian icons/heroines and all that, so it's mostly celebrities for me - those amazing lesbians who've paved the way for other lesbians to come out, or to make us feel that we're not alone.

I know it's SUCH a boring thing, but Ellen - whenever I watch that episode where she comes out to her friends, I always get a bit teary, especially when Audrey gets up after a pause to say "well, I think it's SUPER!" and goes over to hug Ellen. She took that huge step out into the open, and suffered pretty horrid consequences for a good few years after that.

kd lang (oh, kd... ahem) hasn't actually really been much of an icon, she's a singer firstly and has never flaunted or spoken a lot about her sexuality. But she's so obviously obviously gay, and she's butch too, and I just love that she doesn't have to fit the "hot" lesbian look. And incurablygay, thanks for those pictures... I'm all giggly now.

And as Leibug mentioned, Gertrude Stein is pretty much THE lesbian to go to when you're thinking of lesbians. c'mon, she's Gertrude freaking Stein! And my own personal favourite, Judith Halberstam - she's a lesbian academic butch drag king who writes about female masculinity. I don't know why most of the people I look up to seem to be butch or butchy-ish!