Lady Gaga may be the reigning queen of Twitter with nearly 6 million followers, but there are plenty of other queer women on The Advocate’s list of the most followed gays on Twitter. At the top of the list? That would be our namesake, Ellen DeGeneres.
This comedian, married woman and lesbian fashion icon has over 5 million followers (5,209,913 to be exact at the time I’m writing this) following her @TheEllenShow Twitter handle.
Always sweet, usually dancing and married to a beautiful woman, it’s easy to see why Ellen, who caters to housewives and radical queers alike, is so popular. Too nice for Idol Ellen still doesn’t shy away from hosting gigs and introducing newfangled technology to the masses. She’s charismatic and likeable and been an out figure for over a decade. Most of us still remember where we were when she came out on PrimeTime TV in 1997.
The next big dyke on Twitter, coming in at number 4 on their countdown, is the snarky and adorable MSNBC political commentator Rachel Maddow. Maddow has burst on the scene suddenly in the past couple years, driving liberals and conservatives alike into a frenzy, albeit for different reasons. But there’s no doubt that she’s made politics cool again. Over 1.6 million followers prove that.
Right next to her is DJ Samantha Ronson at number 5. Her initial popularity and fame might be attributed to her torried relationship with actress Lindsay Lohan (even though she was already a hot LA DJ and even has her own line of shoes), but she’s got about 400,000 more Twitter fans than her ex, who clocks in the list at number 8 with over a million.
It is interesting, too, to find that number 9 on the list is not famous for being an entertainer. Although she does appear on TV, Suze Orman is a celesbian with financial skills. Her suits bring to mind the exact image of the power lesbian, and, judging by the numbers (also over a million followers), she’s definitely made it.
And while the rest of the list are fellas, I actually feel pretty good about ladies claiming 5 out of the top 15 Tweeters including that coveted number 1 spot. Nevertheless there are several ladies that the Twitterverse is still missing out on. Here are my suggestions:
Twin indie-pop twins Tegan and Sara may only have a mere 90,000 followers but they are probably the most celebrated lesbian band in pop music today and most certainly clued in to this generation’s need for constant update. They blog and give updates, release new videos, post tour schedules, and offer up personal thoughts daily.
Another comedienne that hovers around the same mark is the omnisexual Margaret Cho. A far cry from the tame sincerity of Ellen, Cho isn’t afraid to talk about embarrassing and dirty things including raunchy tales of sex, drugs, and farting on her tour bus.
At about 40,000, followers actress Kate Moennig is most certainly not half as popular. The butch babe star of The L Word still refuses to publicly comment on her sexuality, but she is most definitely a queer icon. She only tweets every few days, but the Twitterverse is hanging on every word when she does.
Dipping down into the thousands may sound like a leap but one of my favorite musicians to follow is former Le Tigre member and current Men lead JD Samson.Her humor, realness and consistent updates make it easy to see why she has over 6000 followers.
Who is your favorite out woman to follow?
