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.
