Tomorrow is the last day to vote for The Les/Bi List, your favorite out female celebrities. We’re putting up the Huddle early this week to share our picks with you, in an obvious attempt to sway you with our individual choices. Here’s who we voted for.
Mia Jones: My top ten out queer women come in no particular order with the exception of Carrie Brownstein because – hello – Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney, Monitor Mix, etc. etc. She is number one. The rest of my favorites include but are not limited to: Suze Orman, Rachel Maddow, Leisha Hailey, Natasha Kai, Sia, Kim Zolciak (just kidding), Beth Ditto, JD Samson and Kim Stolz because she is hot. There I said it. Heather Hogan: Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Jane Lynch, Lily Tomlin, Kate Clinton, Jennifer Knapp, Marlene King, Sarah Waters and Sue Perkins. The Linster: I think I voted for, in no particular order: Rachel Maddow, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi DeGeneres, Jane Lynch, Heather Peace, Laurel Holloman, Chely Wright, Wanda Sykes, Cynthia Nixon and Lily Tomlin. I went back and forth about Laurel, because I’m not sure if she still identifies as bi. She did once upon a time, though, and she’s cute. That’s good enough for me.
Bridget McManus: My number one pick is none other then AE’s fearless leader Editor in Chief Karman Kregloe. Being out is one thing but dedicating your life to lesbian and bisexual representation in the media is a whole other ballgame. And she’s a damn good kisser too! The rest: Sia (Sia is not only wildly talented but she seems to live her life being exactly who she wants to be. Sia let’s her freak flag fly and I love that she’s part of our community); Rachel Maddow (Rachel Maddow represents the best of us. She’s proud to be out, at the top of her field and charming to boot.); Kate Clinton (Kate is hilarious and brilliant! What more could you want in a woman?); Mariah Hanson (Mariah is the founder of The Dinah and an advocate for lesbian chaos – and nudity – in Palm Springs.); Amy Ray (Amy Ray has never shied away from being gay and she embraces it in her music. If you haven’t seen her perform live do yourself a favor and buy tickets to her next show immediately!) Lily Tomlin (Lily was my childhood idle and the fact that she’s gay is just the cherry on top of the sundae. I’m grateful that Lily is out as much and I’m thankful for 9 to 5 and The Incredible Shrinking Woman. ); Cat Cora (The adorable petite blonde only female Iron Chef holds her own in the culinary world and with her army of children with her wife, Jennifer.); Beth Ditto (Diva Beth Ditto is an outstanding performer and very vocal about being out. Just another reason to love her); and Anna Paquin (Anna is obviously a very talented woman. She won an Oscar as a child for The Piano and fights vampires, shifters and werewolves every week on True Blood. But the reason she made my list is because she proudly came out as bisexual right before she married her husband, True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer. A lot of times bisexual people are wrongly judged and Anna’s announcement showed that even though she’s in a committed relationship with a man it’s important to her to be vocal about her bisexuality. I tip my hat to her.)
Karman Kregloe: My picks fall into three categories. Comics: Bridget McManus, Fortune Feimster, Lily Tomlin. Filmmakers: Dee Rees and Nekisa Cooper (Pariah), Morgan Stiff and Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), Anna Margarita Albelo (Hooters, A Lez in Wonderland) and musicians Beth Ditto, Linda Perry and Joan Jett. I guess I’m a sucker for people who create their own material! Lesley Goldberg: I’m voting for Ellen DeGeneres. Why? Every single day, even in repeats, she does more for LGBT visibility by entering millions of homes and providing a simple, effortless message that Harvey Milk encouraged all of us to do: Come out. “If they know us, they can’t vote against us.” Others on my list include personal favorites Brandi Carlile, Jane Lynch, Erin Foley, Jasika Nicole, Amber Heard (just because I adore the way in which she came out), Portia DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Trish Bendix (did you guys catch her six degrees of lesbian goodness during the Oscars? Holy crap!) and the AfterEllen.com staff. Trish Bendix: I find this voting to be way more difficult than the Hot 100. It seems that in 2011, we have so many deserving out women. Ten years ago, it would have been a much different list. My choices: Christine Vachon, Kimberly Peirce, Joan Jett, Carrie Brownstein, Rachel Maddow, Anna Paquin, Sara Gilbert, Khaela Maricich, Marlene King and JD Samson.
Dorothy Snarker: My No. 1 vote is for Ellen DeGeneres. No one blazed as public and as high profile a trail for lesbians in entertainment than our girl Ellen. Hell, AfterEllen.com wouldn’t possibly exist, or at least have as snazzy a name, without Ellen. She was the “Yep, I’m gay” heard around the world. And we’re lucky that since her so many great, strong, wonderful lesbian and bisexual advocates have emerged, including Rachel Maddow, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Cynthia Nixon, Portia de Rossi, Ani DiFranco, Lady Gaga, Margaret Cho and Chely Wright.
Courtney Gillette: Rachel Maddow (Whip smart, awesome style, and biting wit. And she’s on a major cable news network every night. Politics never looked so good, or so queer.); JD Samson (I love her mustache, and her music, and her big heart.); Toshi Reagon (Toshi’s music and performances have always charmed me, but then when she did a soulful folk cover of Le Tigre’s “Keep On Living” at the Kathleen Hanna tribute show in Brooklyn last year, she completely stole my heart. Here’s an out musician with so much talent, it’s stunning.). Emma Donoghue (I really dug her 2010 novel Room) which not only made nearly every top-book list of last year, but included in her bio that she lives in London, Ontario with her partner and their two children. Score one for the awesome literary lesbians.); Ellen DeGeneres (I rarely watch daytime TV, but when I get to, I’ll flip on The Ellen Show, and it’s like life beyond my wildest dreams. Here’s a true blue lesbian, out and proud and wearing sneakers, beloved by a whole studio audience of housewives and suburbanites. Beautiful. Just beautiful.); Constance McMillen (Hey, I thought I was pretty badass in high school, but Constance is the real deal.); Beth Ditto (Gorgeous, funny-as-all-hell, fat-positive southern girl superstar by way of Portland, OR. Huge in England. Voice to match. You go, girl.); Molly Landreth (The photographer behind Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America, Landreth not only is talented in her craft but is doing seriously important work, documenting queer subculture and lives.); Eileen Myles (I am so glad to be alive in the time of Eileen Myles. Her literary merit is off the hook, and her latest book Inferno was a slice of queer writer heaven. She’s one of my writing idols.); and Liz Feldman (She’s a friend of AfterEllen.com, so maybe I’m biased, but I think her hilarious videos, upbeat outlook, and blue blazer are some of the best contributions to lesbian pop culture in a long time.)
Did we sway you?
