Photography by Gavin Bond
In 2011, we were reminded of the extraordinary power of the individual to inspire and motivate by example. A gay intern helped save the life of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords; a young transgender student was crowned high school prom queen; a New York City lawyer became the first openly gay man appointed to the federal bench; and an air force officer, who helped found an undercover group of 4,000 LGBT active-duty service members, was free to come out -- along with tens of thousands of his colleagues. These four courageous people are all honored in this year’s Out100, with many others who have inspired and moved us.
They include legends such as Larry Kramer -- whose 1985 play, The Normal Heart, received a stunning revival on Broadway this past season -- as well as iconoclasts, like Justin Vivian Bond and Sandra Bernhard, and newsmakers, such as Chaz Bono, whose participation in the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars was as groundbreaking as it was stirring.
To pay homage to their individualism, this year's portfolio is inspired by iconic portraits of the 20th century, from Richard Avedon's image of a shaving Marlon Brando and Robert Mapplethorpe's Patti Smith to Herb Ritts's Madonna and Harry Benson's timeless portraits of the Beatles pillow-fighting.
When famous women flaunt their relationships with gays, it can have a disingenuous aura -- like a clever marketing ploy to cash in on the gay dollar. Kathy Griffin is another story entirely. "We have each other's back," she says.
Kathy's affinity for our community started in school. "I was beyond a nerd," she says. "I was that girl who went to the dance with a gay guy, but he didn't know he was gay yet. I asked four guys to the Sadie Hawkins dance, and they all said, 'No.' Do you know how embarrassing that is? And then, one adorable gay man who just happened to be in Fiddler on the Roof with me said, 'Yes.' We've been friends ever since."
Griffin takes her school experiences in stride. "I was picked on relentlessly," she says. "The jocks and the cheerleaders gave me vocational training. You learn humor to survive. That is something I love in the gay community." Her posse had its fringe benefits -- her parents didn't freak if she stayed out a bit late. "My mom was grateful I wasn't going to get date-raped by sketchy drunk dudes," Griffin says. "The worst we were going to do was light Bedazzling or flipping through fashion magazines."
Griffin has been honored with awards from GLAAD, Lambda Legal, and The Trevor Project. She rattles off a litany of gay events -- fundraisers, bear jamborees, porn awards -- she's performed at recently. If sodomites throw it, Griffin will be there. "I just performed for sober drag queens," she says, "which is a very specific subset."
Since her Emmy–winning reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List ended, Griffin has gone back to stand-up. She's had three specials on Bravo this year, and a fourth will air in December. Next, she wants to do a talk show. But no matter what, she'll never forget her fans: "I read every single twat someone sends me on Twitter."
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson kicked off 2011 by introducing his boyfriend of a few months, lawyer Justin Mikita, to the press. The couple was heading into Elle's Women in Television event, where they hadn't planned on making any pronouncements. "We were holding hands as we went around a corner, and suddenly we were on the red carpet," says the Modern Family star. "I wasn't going to stop holding his hand." As the year comes to a close, Ferguson and Mikita are still going strong. And as his character, Mitchell, is deciding whether he and Cam should have a second child, Ferguson and Mikita are also adding a member to their family. "A friend of ours just had a litter [of Maltese–Shih-Tzus], so we drove down to Torrance," the actor says. "My dad never let us have a dog, so it's very exciting to me." Almost as exciting as being named Out’s Artist of the Year? "Jane Lynch must have said, 'I don't want it this year, stop showering me with praise, please give it to someone else,' " he jokes. "And I was, like, fourth on the Someone Else list." Hardly. As the real-life gay half of TV's most lovable (fictional) gay couple, Ferguson is in a unique position among actors. "To have job security and to have it on a show that people are looking to as a cultural touchstone for gay marriage -- that's extraordinary," he says. And it's only heightened by Modern Family's Emmy streak; this year, the show won best comedy series for the second time. "I'm always being stopped on the street," Ferguson marvels. "Someone recently thanked me for changing his uncle's mind about gay people. 'He loves your show so much, I felt OK to tell him I'm gay.' It's astonishing."
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People warn you: "Watch out, here comes Larry Kramer." He’s ornery, irascible, impossible, loud. Overall, the man is indefatigable. He's been declared dead more than once, both literally (in a 2001 Associated Press headline) and metaphorically (for his professional suicide in writing about the gay experience and endlessly crusading for gay equality). But few prepare you for the charmer with a dog named Charlie, who's touched by how much of what he's fought for has come to pass.
Nominated for an Academy Award in 1969 for his screenplay of Women in Love, Kramer truly announced his voice with his confrontational 1978 novel, Faggots. He co-founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982. Then, when that didn’t seem sufficient, he went on to create ACT UP in 1987. But it was his play, The Normal Heart, first produced in April 1985 at the Public Theater, for which most will remember him. A successful Broadway revival this past season, directed by George C. Wolfe and Joel Grey, gave people a reason to reconsider the man of letters, allowing the work to transform from agitprop into sensitive historical drama (a film by Glee creator Ryan Murphy is scheduled for 2014).
And then there is his epic novel, The American People, that, at 76, Kramer is still hard at work on. Running to thousands of pages, it details a decidedly queer history of the United States. Just don’t mistake it for the gay Abraham Lincoln book. "It's not just Lincoln -- it's the whole gay American history," he corrects. And he should know -- he's played such a big part in it.
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The model Andrej Pejic is the embodiment of intersections. Australian and Serbo-Croatian, he walks in both men's and women's shows (famously closing Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2011 couture show in a fur-trimmed dress). "The truth is I have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously," Pejic says, although he's stomped in high heels all over the narrow parameters of the chiseled male model. "Most male models have girlfriends, but backstage, when no one is looking, they like to pinch me," he says. In October, he met with the Queen of England as one of the most influential Australians of the year. Pejic wore a vintage leather Versace pencil skirt. "Let's face it, we all love a good queen," he says. "I went for a '90s Sharon Stone look. The palace was beautiful; I felt right at home."
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Call Ken Mehlman the stealth activist. In 2004, on The Daily Show, Mehlman won laughter by inviting Jon Stewart to donate to the Bush-Cheney re-election bid, for which he was campaign manager. Six years later, he became the most influential Republican in history to identify as gay and went on to play a quietly instrumental role in winning support for marriage equality in New York State, lobbying politicians in Albany and raising money for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality. "As someone who came out late in life, I can attest to the fact that it gets better," he says. "For a state as big and iconic as New York to be able to have accomplished marriage equality with a bipartisan approach was a momentous event, and one I was honored to play a small part in." Next, he's determined to help other states follow New York's example, starting with California, where he's been instrumental in his role as board member on the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is fighting to have Proposition 8 repealed.
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As a teenage activist for civil rights, and a prominent figure in the anti-war movement during the American conflict in Vietnam, it was inevitable that David Mixner would eventually channel those same energies into gay rights. In 1978, along with his date Peter Scott, he helped to persuade then-governor Ronald Reagan to oppose California’s Proposition 6, which sought to make it illegal for gays and lesbians to be schoolteachers.
In the 1990s, he broke with his one-time friend Bill Clinton over passage of "don’t ask, don’t tell,” but only after he made history by dancing with his date, David Davis, at the 1993 Inaugural Ball. “We went to the middle of the floor, figuring we’d lose ourselves in the crowd, and at the very moment we started slow-dancing, the floor emptied,” he recalls. “I’ve never felt more exposed. And then, out of this crowd came this elderly couple from Iowa who started dancing right next to David and I. They said, ‘You know, we always like to dance next to the best dancers,’ and shortly after they started dancing, the floor filled up again.”
In his new memoir, At Home With Myself: Stories From the Hills of Turkey Hollow, Mixner recalls that moment, alongside many others from a lifetime of activism marked by courage and conviction.
See the inspiration for this portrait here.
The 2008 premiere of Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project introduced the world to Brad Goreski, Zoe's meticulously groomed, energetic assistant. Since then, he's parted ways with the celebrity stylist and branched out on his own. Up next for the dapper front-row fixture -- known for his signature dandy-prepster lewk -- is his own reality TV endeavor, Its a Brad, Brad World, also on Bravo. "You'll get to see the Brad you're familiar with, and then a Brad you don't really know," he says, before adding, "but you'll see a lot of outfits."
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Currently a senior studying political science at the University of Arizona, Daniel Hernandez rocketed to fame early in 2011 while interning at the Tuscon offices of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. On January 8, he heard shots, ran toward Giffords, and administered first aid that most likely saved her life after the horrific mass shooting that claimed six others. Active in LGBT and education issues, Hernandez has since been raising awareness and funds for various causes. He wants to remind people that we are going into an important election year, and where we are now, with changes to "don't ask, don't tell" and other progressive legislation, is very different than before Obama was elected three years ago. "We need to celebrate the victories that we’ve had, but also realize that there's still a lot of work to be done, and not everything's going to be done overnight."
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Ashbery remains one of America's most revered man of letters, having won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. At the age of 84, he hasn't slowed down yet. Ashbery recently brought his power for linguistic sensitivity and verbal games to his original translation of Illuminations, the poems of 19th century's openly gay poet Arthur Rimbaud. He continues to live in New York City and in Hudson, N.Y., with his partner, David Kermani.
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As the most visible gay person in the film industry, Dustin Lance Black hasn’t shied away from addressing difficult, often-controversial subjects. He recently returned to theater, penning 8, which addresses California’s Proposition 8. Black’s stature and influence -- such as his Oscar-winning script for Milk and his latest credit for J. Edgar -- could be attributed to his creative output alone, but he backs this up with fervent activism. “I hope that by the end of this year, we are not only celebrating marriage equality in New York, but the fruits of a federal victory in regards to the Prop. 8 case,” says Black, who’s been a leading figure in the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the sponsor of the groundbreaking federal court case to overturn the state law.
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For years, he was known as J.D. Smith, a pseudonym used to protect him while working as a liaison between military officials and LGBT members of the armed forces. When the 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed September 20, Josh Seefried, currently an Air Force budget analyst based in New Jersey, was able to proudly divulge his real name. "People didn’t understand the unintended consequences of DADT. You are subject to blackmail," says Seefried, 25, who was maliciously outed by an instructor and temporarily removed from his job. "With the repeal, the concept of a gay person has changed. Gay people can now be military people." A 2009 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Seefried is the cofounder of OutServe, an organization that includes approximately 4,000 LGBT members actively serving in the military. He also edited Our Time: Breaking the Silence of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a collection of heartbreaking first-person essays from service members that puts a human face on the abuse and discrimination that many suffered for decades.
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Read more about DADT and Seefried's book here.
On July 18, with a vote of 80-13, J. Paul Oetken became a district judge for the southern district of New York state and the first openly gay federal judge. In his speech following Oetken’s confirmation, Senator Charles Schumer -- a champion of his nomination -- said, “He will give hope to many talented young lawyers who, until now, thought their paths might be limited because of their sexual orientation. When Paul becomes Judge Oetken, he will be living proof to all those young lawyers that it really does get better.”
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The furor directed at ABC after it announced that Chaz Bono, who underwent reassignment surgery last year, would be included in the current season of hit reality show Dancing With the Stars simply confirmed the value of the network’s bold decision. After years in which American Idol contestants were encouraged to keep their sexuality private, seeing Bono dancing with his female instructor was one of television's most inspiring images of 2011 -- and a salutary reminder of how rare such positive images are. Bono's other achievements this year include a documentary, Becoming Chaz, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered three Emmy nominations, and the publication of his third book, Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man.
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The first thought that went through Andii Viveros's head when she was crowned prom queen at her Florida high school was a question: Which of the other girls nominated was going to murder her? "But no one touched me," says the transgender graduate. "I was shocked." Not only did Viveros have the obvious support of a good part of her student body; her father and school principal encouraged her toward the coveted crown.
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Though Adam Lambert admits he felt "a little uncomfortable” with his role model status early on, the flamboyant singer has since taken a major stand for gay rights, lending star power to causes like Equality California, PFLAG, and The Trevor Project. Lambert's second album, which he is executive producing, is due out next year, and he promises it will be "even more personal than the last."
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His U.K. indie film, Weekend, contains emotional depth, humor, and an unflinching depiction of what gay guys do in the bedroom. Andrew Haigh's sophomore feature has proven to be a remarkable crossover hit and is the standout gay film of 2011. But we're sure this is just the beginning for the talented auteur.
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While California voters may have overturned legal same-sex marriage, state legislators have passed a first-of-its-kind bill requiring schools to include LGBT history in their lesson plans. "It's about teaching the broad diversity of the human experience," says Mark Leno, author of the bill and one of California's first openly gay state senators. "It's really the most important thing we can teach our children: for them to grow up in harmony and peace."
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He was nominated this year for a Tony for his performance in The Scottsboro Boys, in which he played everything from a minstrel showman to a bigoted sheriff. Prior to that, Colman Domingo picked up a GLAAD award for his one-man show about growing up gay and black in 1970s West Philly. And he can perform marriages, too. In July 2011, he officiated a number of gay and lesbian wedding ceremonies onstage at the St. James Theatre.
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Jo might have been the butchest of the girls on The Facts of Life, but Geri Jewell, who played Cousin Geri, was the real-life lesbian. A comedian with cerebral palsy, Jewell broke ground as the first person with a visible disability to have a regular role on a primetime network series. She was also a regular on HBO’s Deadwood, and this year, released her autobiography, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can. “I wrote it to tell my truth and a part of my truth is being gay. If I didn’t tell that part of who I am, it would be like writing an autobiography and not saying I have cerebral palsy.”
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Dan Savage -- editorial director of Seattle's alternative newsweekly The Stranger and the author of The Kid -- exerted his influence over two decades in his internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column "Savage Love," and now on his weekly "Savage Lovecast," both of which offer blunt advice to people of... all sexual persuasions. Last year, Savage and husband Terry Miller created the It Gets Better campaign in response to a rash of high-profile gay teen suicides connected to bullying. As he explained in a column after the death of Billy Lucas, "I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better." This past March, he and Miller edited a book of inspiring essays (also titled It Gets Better) that made The New York Times Best Seller list. Savage is currently traveling to college campuses, taping an MTV show, Savage U, that offers students a crash course on relationships, sex, and love.
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Prolific avant-garde director Robert Wilson, 70, is known to be radical and opaque in his work. He's quick to embrace things that are difficult. "What's wrong with illusion?" he asks. "I hate naturalism. I like things that are artificial." Born in Waco, Texas, Wilson has been out from a young age, although he says, "I don't dwell on it." The opera Einstein on the Beach, which he made with Philip Glass, won him critical acclaim in the 1970s, and he's collaborated since with everyone from Lou Reed, David Byrne, and Rufus Wainwright to Marina Abramovic and William S. Burroughs. There's not much difference between living and making art. That philosophy is apparent at his Watermill Center in Long Island, N.Y., where he hosts about 65 people from 30 nations every summer, collaborating on countless creative projects.
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In the brutal contact sport of rugby, Gareth Thomas proved time and again to be one of the most ferocious (and decorated) players on the field. Thomas is one of only a handful of out professional athletes. It’s apt that his current team is the Crusaders, as Thomas is certainly breaking barriers and opening up a world of possibility for other gay athletes. And who else could play this Welsh badass in an upcoming biopic but tough-guy actor Mickey Rourke?
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Jamie Clayton is a jill-of-all-trades. Besides being a member of performance art–rock group Roma! and modeling in the new Jeremy Scott ad, Clayton debuted in HBO’s Hung this November. Finally, more trans roles are going to trans actresses.
Paul Mpagi Sepuya, known for photographing his male friends in intimate (often-nude) portraits, spent 2011 as artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, which resulted in a show of his work. An ambitious 200-page volume, titled Studio Work, will be released in 2012.
Chad Hodge's show, The Playboy Club, had a decidedly queer bent with its lead played by out lesbian Amber Heard and a subplot involving a lesbian Bunny and her gay husband (both members of Chicago’s budding Mattachine Society) in a lavender marriage. Look for Chad Hodge’s next project, the HBO movie Oh My God: The Anita Bryant Story, in 2012.
Mickalene Thomas’s paintings have a sumptuous quality. She often embellishes her canvasses with rhinestones and depicts a variety of black women, at once serene and often sexualized, as an exploration of power, femininity, and beauty. MoMA and the National Portrait Gallery have collected her work, and a recent solo exhibition took place at Lehmann Maupin Gallery.
Harmony Santana made her big-screen debut this year in Gun Hill Road, about a teenage boy living in the Bronx and attempting to transition to female. Living full-time as a woman since last year, Harmony is part of a small group of transgender actors fighting to find a place in film.
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Although he started as a Broadway performer and choreographer, Abe Sylvia (left) made his directorial debut with Dirty Girl, a coming-of-age road trip film set in 1980s Oklahoma that includes an overweight, closeted boy bullied until he finds self-acceptance with a slutty sidekick. While he plans to celebrate the release of this film, he's also excited about the victory in New York, "and hopes that California catches up."
Josh Berman recently sold a pilot to ABC about a female FBI agent who joins forces with a murder detective (her gay ex-fiancé). It's definitely a celebratory achievement for Berman, who's spent years working on CBS's CSI: Miami, Fox's Bones, and creating Drop Dead Diva for Lifetime.
To make Lisa Kudrow -- famous for playing one of America's most loveable Friends -- a somewhat unlikable heroine is kind of unthinkable. To Don Roos (left) and Dan Bucatinsky, it's also unthinkable that they've now been doing it for four seasons on Web Therapy, the online show that was picked up by Showtime this year. "It's an experiment that we kind of threw together in the beginning, and now it has legs," Roos says. "People like it; actors want to be on it. We've inadvertently created something special. We're very proud of that."
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For nine seasons, Tim Gunn has acted as the fastidious, no-nonsense mentor on Project Runway, encouraging contestants with his now-signature missive to "make it work.”" Gunn honed his discerning eye during a nearly 25-year tenure on staff at Parsons. His blend of fussy but compassionate guidance charmed audiences and catapulted him into a Bravo makeover spin-off, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, and a trio of bestselling books, the most recent of which, Shaken, Not Stirred, was released earlier this year.
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I Love Being Me, Don't You? is the title of her new one-woman show (captured on an album of the same name), but it could easily be the tagline for Bernhard's life. The brilliant and brash provocateur is widely known for her sitcom and film roles -- as well as her relationships with everyone from Madonna to Mizrahi -- but most of all for her bitingly honest embodiment of the roll of comedian. This year, you might have caught her alongside Justin Vivian Bond in the Jake Shears musical, Arts & Crafts. Coming soon: an episode of Hot in Cleveland and a book on motherhood that's sure to be everything you're not expecting.
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Although Mx. Justin Vivian Bond (Obie winner and Tony nominee) came out with Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels ("a novella-length slimoir" in V's words) and Dendrophile, V's first full-length solo album, the performer's biggest accomplishment this year may concern grammar. "I called 2011 '20Vivian' because I went public in my assertions of transgenderness," V says. "I put together a glossary of terms, saying that I would prefer to be called 'Mx.' instead of "Mr."; because I hate being called 'Mr.' in the press." And it's caught on, with both The New Yorker and The Economist bowing to the request. "Having people see that it's possible to choose your own identity and to demand that other people respect that -- it's been very rewarding."
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There’s no denying that London serves as a petri dish of innovative design talent, with phenoms Marios Schwab (left) and Jonathan Saunders currently leading the way. Alexander McQueen approached Saunders to work on prints for him shortly after his colorful graduate presentation at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Since launching his own label in 2003, Saunders has also created capsule collections with mega-retailers Target and Topshop. Schwab, also a Saint Martins graduate, debuted his collection in 2005 and swept up the Best New Designer title at the British Fashion Awards. Schwab’s inspirations may be varied, but he never strays far from the sexy, body-hugging silhouette that has won him celebrity clientele.
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While designer Peter Som is a native of San Franciso, he's established an aesthetic that's less "lady of the canyon" and more "lady who lunches." Som, who interned with Michael Kors and Calvin Klein while still a student at Parsons, debuted his own label in 2001 and immediately received critical accolades for his urbane and sophisticated take on sportswear. Last year, the desinger--who counts Scarlett Johansson, Clare Danes, and the First Lady as fans--was enlisted to consult for Tommy Hilfiger, and has re-energized its preppy womenswear.
Bob Mould's riveting autobiography, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, was released earlier this year and tells his journey from Hüsker Dü front man to now. His seminal power trio of the 1980s slid through rock genres with an electric squall, made double-concept albums of lyrical complexity, and remained truly indie in spirit -- even after signing to a major label. Since its demise, Mould formed and broke up the underrated Sugar, released solo albums, came out, and remains an iconoclast who DJs the traveling queer dance party Blowoff.
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Some of the most iconic images of gay activism in recent memory are thanks to Adam Bouska, who created the NOH8 Campaign in response to the passage of California’s Proposition 8. Since the movement’s conception in 2008, over 15,000 photos have been taken in conjunction with the campaign, featuring models ranging from Fran Drescher to a good percentage of your Facebook friends.
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Julie Mehretu has already had a major exhibition, Grey Area, at the Guggenheim and a multi-million dollar, 80-foot mural commissioned by Goldman Sachs for the lobby of its new building in downtown Manhattan. But this year, Mehretu says her biggest accomplishment is being a new mother and seeing her second son, who was born late last year, grow in his first year. "That evolution of a human being is one of the most incredible experiences to witness."
This year, Pruitt unveiled "The Andy Monument," a 10-foot-tall chrome sculpture of Andy Warhol at Union Square (near the Factory), as a tribute to the Pop artist and the reason he moved to New York City. A defining moment in 2011 for Pruitt, who lives across from New York’s City Hall, is being able to witness gay people get married nearly every day when he gets his
morning coffee.
Assembling a survey of Jean Paul Gaultier’s vast career is a monumental task -- one that curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot undertook for his successful exhibit, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, which debuted in Montreal this summer and traveled to the Dallas Museum of Art in November. “When you think of his work, there’s a very strong social message,” Loriot, a former model, says, referring to the designer’s eccentric inspirations and a fondness for gender-subversion. “The gay and lesbian community has always been a part of his universe.”
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The daughter of a military professor and an ex-nun, Karey Dornetto -- who has written for South Park and Arrested Development -- likes to blow your mind with her humorous takes on everyday matters. This year, she worked as a writer on the second season of the hit NBC show Community and is currently plotting season two of Portlandia. “I like Cindy Sherman,” say Dornetto, when asked about her favorite iconic imagery. “She does kind of weird self portraiture, which I tend to do a lot of, too… and send to people, which might be weird.” On the horizon for 2012? Dornetto is developing a pilot of her own.
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Before an artistic partnership with Lady Gaga made him a household name (the infamous meat dress was his idea), Nicola Formichetti had established himself as a driving creative force among fashion insiders and continues to work as a stylist and editor. Last year, Formichetti was also named creative director of MUGLER -- the relaunch of the iconic label founded by Thierry Mugler -- and is determined to democratize fashion. "I'm not an elitist," he says. "I want everyone to share what we're about."
See the inspiration for this photo here.
We recently caught up with Nicola to see what he's been up to since our Out100 shoot. Read his interview here.
Jeremy Heimans, Activist
Jeremy Heimans launched AllOut.org this year, a global LGBT rights organization. Previously, he cofounded Avaaz.org in 2007, a civic-minded organization to give voice to individuals on climate change, human rights, and religious conflict.
Jose Antonio Vargas, Journalist
Vargas is known for his coverage of gay issues, but this year, he came out in a completely new way: as an undocumented immigrant. Born in the Philippines and raised in California, Vargas later discovered his immigration status was invalid. A major figurehead for the DREAM Act -- which would have provided permanent residency to some illegal immigrants -- he's now working on the Define American campaign for immigrant rights.
Jared Eng, Blogger
Founder of the Just Jared blog, Eng's enthusiastic tone has secured him a following to rival Perez Hilton. "I've always celebrated celebrities," he says. "I'd never want to tear them down."
Jeff Whitty, Playwright
The Tony-winning playwright hit it big with Avenue Q and also wrote the libretto for this year's Bring It On: The Musical. Ths year's triumph? His Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Tales of the City, with music by Jake Shears and John Garden of Scissor Sisters, that premiered this summer in San Francisco.
Wayne Koestenbaum, Poet & Cultural Critic
John Waters summed up Koestenbaum's Humiliation best when he wrote, "This literary 'topping from the bottom' is the funniest, smartest, most heartbreaking yet powerful book I've read in a long time." See the inspiration for this photo here
The Senator represents a hefty portion of Manhattan (including gay-centric Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen) and became the Senate's first openly gay and openly HIV-positive member when elected in 1998. Duane has advocated for health care and housing protections and reform, and he was instrumental in the push to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. "The challenge remains to come out all the time," he says. "It's something we all must do in our personal and professional lives -- come out every day and not shy away from it."
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The fact that New York passed same-sex marriage is partially because of the tireless efforts of key politicians. The first openly gay man in the New York State Assembly, O’Donnell has represented various neighborhoods of Manhattan known for their liberal views (and happens to be Rosie O'Donnell's brother), but his years of diligence finally paid off in the landmark legislation for equal rights.
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After some time away from the stage, legendary director George C. Wolfe returned this past season with impressive productions of John Guare's A Free Man of Color and The Normal Heart, for which his codirection (with Joel Grey) was recognized with a Tony for Best Revival of a Play. "Art can shatter. The intimacy shatters the boundaries of history," Wolfe explains, regarding his decision to work in theater. "My image for Normal Heart was that it was a horror movie: There was this monster out that was attacking and getting closer. There were no weapons. The only weapon was the passion to fight for what you love." Having worked with both Tony Kushner -- delivering Angels in America to Broadway and international acclaim -- and Larry Kramer, Wolfe has a unique perspective on two of the most important playwrights of the 20th century. "They are both incredibly intense and political people," he says. "I love and adore them both."
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Broadway's two biggest hits this year couldn't be more dissimilar: War Horse, the epic spectacle centering on a young man’s devotion to his beloved steed during World War I, and The Book of Mormon, a vulgar tale of two missionaries sent to proselytize a poverty-stricken Ugandan town. The common thread between the two shows, though, are the celebrated performances of their gay actors Rory O’Malley (left) and Matt Doyle (right).
Doyle is no stranger to the stage, having performed in the Broadway casts of Spring Awakening and the recent revival of Bye Bye Birdie before landing this role in War Horse.
O’Malley’s breakout performance as a sexually repressed missionary in Mormon secured him a Tony nomination. He remains a vocal gay rights advocate and heavily involved in the activist group Broadway Impact, which he helped found in 2008.
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Stephen Karam (top, left) is having a moment: His Sons of the Prophet opened Off-Broadway in October (an astoundingly honest portrayal of gay brothers in Eastern Pennsylvania), followed by Dark Sisters, his opera collaboration with Nico Muhly. The playwright says he couldn't do it without "all the incredible, brave writers who came before, like Larry Kramer and Terrence McNally." Charles Perez climbed his way up the television news ladder and landed an eponymous talk show in the '90s, as well as a syndicated news program. But, for many, Perez is known for that gay kiss with Norman on the first season of MTV's The Real World. This year, the anchorman-turned-activist published Confessions of a Gay Anchorman, which claims he was treated unfairly by former employers. According to Perez, "Being gay is not a liability" (which led to the launch of his website no-shame.org) -- and is why, in the book, he implores Anderson Cooper and Shepard Smith to come out publicly.
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Sciamma has been showered with accolades and awards this year -- from the Berlin International Film Festival and numerous LGBT film festivals -- for Tomboy, which explores gender through the eyes of a young girl. The filmmaker’s sophomore feature was recently accepted into two French national programs that curate a select number of movies approved for curricular use in primary and secondary schools.
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Andy Cohen is executive vice president of original programming and development at Bravo and host of the late-night Watch What Happens Live, where a lot actually does happen. For Cohen, it’s important to show that being gay is not the only thing that defines us. "There's a cavalcade of people on Bravo who just happen to be gay, but they're also really good at something. They're not on because they're gay. I think that's really important." See the inspiration for this photo here.
Skateboarding has traditionally been known not only as a boy's club, but a straight boy's club. Pro skater Lauren Mollica (left) ollies over that stereotype.
It didn't take long after starting their event production company, CauseForce, Inc., for Brian Pendleton (center, right) and Chad Goldman (center, left) to make history, raising $12.5 million for breast cancer research with their founding event, Weekend to End Breast Cancer, which benefited Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Since then, CauseForce has raised over $450 million in cancer research and care, and in 2011 alone raised over $50 million worldwide. "This year has been fantastic," Goldman explains. "Not only with our fundraising thresholds, but with the new avenues we're pursuing, reaching out to new cancer research organizations around the world has been incredible."
Yigit Pura was born in Turkey and excluded from all things baking from an early age. "My mother thought boys weren't allowed in the kitchen," he says. Pura has made his way into big-name restaurants, from coast to coast, and now resides in San Francisco. Many know him as the winner (and resident heartthrob) of Top Chef: Just Desserts, but, as of late, he's also been devoting much of his time to LGBTQ youth outreach.
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Those still mourning the loss of early-aughties electro-punks Le Tigre had reason to rejoice this year when former member JD Samson (left) returned to the scene with her band, MEN, and their first LP, Talk About Body. As the soulful trans singer of Brooklyn R&B-dance trio Jessica 6, Nomi Ruiz (center) evokes a little Aaliyah, a bit of Mary J. Blige, and a touch of Sade. But it’s her uncontainable sex appeal that led Gaga stylist Nicola Formichetti to tap her for the campaign film for his MUGLER menswear collection and use the group's single, "White Horse," for its soundtrack. Melissa Ferrick has been perfecting her craft for two decades, but this year, the Boston singer-guitarist cracked the Billboard charts for the first time, thanks to her latest (and 17th!) album, Still Right Here, a collection of rollicking folk-rock songs that boasts guest spots from Ani DiFranco and Kaki King.
Dee Rees is the writer-director behind Pariah, a knockout film that details an African-American lesbian’s coming-out, as well as her struggle with the rigid definitions of butch and femme. The Nashville native based the film -- which opens in December and has Spike Lee attached as an executive producer -- upon her own life. At times, it’s devastatingly sad, but it never loses a sense of hope.
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When Charles Barkley made a giant wave after voicing his support for gay marriage and his disdain for homophobia in the sports world, ESPN Radio veteran sportscaster Jared Max (top) took the opportunity to make a ripple himself when he came out on-air. Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley also made the decision to come out in his column (it was his mother’s idea, he says) and followed that up by saying that he made the biggest mistake of his life in not doing it sooner.
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Kye Allums, the George Washington University athlete formerly known as Kay-Kay, made headlines this past year by coming out as the first FTM player in the history of NCAA Division I basketball. When asked to reflect on 2011, Allums says, "I'm celebrating me -- and just being happy and being myself -- not having to hide anything."
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In a year marked by a spate of teen suicides, it's comforting to see The Power Within, an anti-bullying comic book by writer Zan Christensen (left) and illustrator Mark Brill. Inspired, or rather upset, by Tyler Clementi's tragic death last year, the pair set out to create an empowering story of an eighth-grader picked on for being gay. Christensen looks forward to beginning his third year at Northwest Press, a LGBT graphic novel and comics publishing house he founded. When asked about the future, Brill cheekily responds, "I will be celebrating another whole year of riding along on Zan's coattails."
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Charles Busch first attracted attention by transforming himself as a campy female impersonator in his comic play, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, back in the early '80s, which became one of the longest-running shows in Off-Broadway history. He proved his mainstream appeal with The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which moved to Broadway and garnered Tony nominations in 2000. This year, the consummate performer and tireless writer performed in a nun's wimple in a long-running Off-Broadway production of his play, Divine Sister, and saw another of his works, Olive and the Bitter Herbs, staged at 59E59 Theaters.
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It has recently come to our attention that Chloë Sevigny -- by Drew Droege, for YouTube -- is the celebrity impersonation of the year. Droege, an L.A.-based comedian, Groundlings teacher, and Upright Citizens Brigade alum, delighted the viral video masses by channeling the bohemian bon vivant in all her audaciously avant-garde splendor. Whether pontificating on the pleasures of eating "frozen Gruyère air" or describing "a champagne brunch with Anne Rice, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Tweet," Droege has our full attention with one phrase: "Good evening, America. I'm Chloë Sevigny."
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Nicolas Ripoll was plucked from relative obscurity when designer Miuccia Prada enlisted him to open and close her Fall 2009 runway show, instantly flagging him as a face to watch. Known for his sensitive mug and pernnial pout--not to mention the casual acknowledgement of his sexuality in a profession that tends to accentuate the masculine swagger and conceal homosexuality--the Argentinean has skyrocketed, emerging as a familiar face on catwalks worldwide and landing coveted campaigns for luxury labels (most recently the Italian brand Bottega Veneta).
An Episcopalian priest, Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale (right) served for 17 years on the national board for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. She drew fire in 2009 from religious conservatives when she called abortion a "blessing" and the doctors who perform them "heroes." This year, she and fellow Episcopalian priest Rev. Mally Lloyd were married at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston by Bishop M. Thomas Shaw on New Year’s Day.
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The latest designer in a long line of British-based fashion anarchists, Gareth Pugh captivates audiences with his outlandish creations that favor theatricality over utility. His celebrity clientele includes pop divas Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga. Pulling visual elements from London’s underground club kid scene, the world of sexual fetishism, and science fiction cinema, Pugh’s garments often experiment with sculptural silhouettes that distort and manipulate -- rather than complement -- the body.
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"For first time, I feel that, after being in the gay movement and producing gay culture since 1969, I'm finally getting the hang of it," says Michael Bronski (left), author of A Queer History of the United States. The Women's and Gender Studies professor (in his 10th year at Dartmouth College) went back in time, far beyond Stonewall, to illuminate the ways in which queerness has indelibly shaped the U.S. as we know it.
Quarantine, a collection of short stories, which Indian-American author Rahul Mehta worked on for almost a decade, deals with varying identities in humorous, sharp, and heart-breaking ways. In his literary debut, gay Indian-American men, like himself, struggle to balance modern life and sexuality with familial and traditional ties. With his nuanced, textured perspective, Mehta has established himself as one of his generation's most promising LGBT authors.
Justin Spring is redefining gay life in mid–20th century America with the help of Sam Steward, a writer, photographer, and sexual documentarian living in early 1950s Chicago -- and the subject of Spring's book, Secret Historian, and an accompanying exhibition he curated, Obscene Diary, currently on view at New York City's Museum of Sex. "This project made me realize, I've kind of lived through this whole transition in gay consciousness," he says, "from the struggles of the early 20th century to New York passing gay marriage. It's magical."
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As a staff writer for The New Yorker, Ariel Levy's (left) pieces on gender, sexuality, and a multitude of hot-button cultural topics pull no punches -- like this year's knockout story on the sexual debacles of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. In addition to Entertainment Weekly’s major crush on Glee, this year the magazine celebrated TV's gay teen characters in a groundbreaking cover story. "That would have been unthinkable when the magazine started two decades ago," says managing editor Jess Cagle, who has spent nearly a quarter century at Time Inc., and the last two years at the helm of the magazine.
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Since his promotion to president in 2007, Jack Calhoun has made it his mission to refine the image of Banana Republic, the most mature brand under the Gap, Inc. umbrella. Under his direction, the business-casual label has cultivated a sleeker, more modern edge and announced a media partnership with Mad Men this year, wisely channeling the show’s stylized, retro mien into profit.
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Rock's curmudgeon emeritus, Stephin Merritt is a droll observer who glides effortlessly from plaintive acoustic balladry to electro dissonance. Besides fronting the Magnetic Fields, Merritt has recorded under various guises and groups, including the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes, and the Gothic Archies, and this year, he released Obscurities, a collection of B-sides, as well as tracks from the unfinished musical The Song From Venus. No matter what moniker he goes under, or genre he explores, Merritt’s plaintive bass register and referential, literary lyrics are unmistakable.
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The former senior advisor to the U.S. ambassador in Paris, Bernard was tapped by Michelle Obama in February to organize all White House social events, making him the first man -- and the first gay person -- to land the position. It's just another signal of the First Lady's willingness to break with convention. After the bumpy tenure of his predecessor, Desiree Rogers (she of the infamous Salahi debacle), Bernard's presence has been distinguished by the most elusive White House quality of all: harmony.
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Don Lemon (seated) and Howard Bragman are from opposite ends of the journalism spectrum (one is a broadcaster and the other does public relations), but gay visibility is their forte. Bragman is the PR guru who assists celebs who venture out of the closet -- Chaz Bono, Meredith Baxter, and WNBA superstar Sheryl Swoopes are among his clients -- and he recently landed country crooner Chely Wright on the cover of People. This year, Bragman also landed Lemon, the CNN anchor who came out with his autobiography, Transparent, a rumination on his childhood and sexuality.
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It’s safe to say that one need not worry about homophobia when the boss is Lady Gaga. Mark Kanemura first danced with Gaga during the infamous bloody "Paparazzi" performance, during MTV’s 2009 VMAs, and is featured in videos for "Alejandro," "Telephone," "Judas," and "Born This Way." He's also worked with Katy Perry, Janet Jackson, and Beyoncé, and before that, was a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance. It's his work with pop's current reigning queen, however, that has transformed his life. "I am living a life that I want to be living right now," he says. "I'm not hiding in any way. The nice thing about touring with Gaga and working with Laurieann [Gibson, her choreographer,] is that they're so supportive of you as an artist and you as a person. They allow you to be the person that you are when you’re dancing."
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Read our feature about Kanemura here.
The San Francisco– and New York City–based photographer calls what he does "artivism," since he employs his talent to illustrate issues around families, HIV/AIDS, adoption, and foster care in campaigns for nonprofits. Cramer's been living with HIV since 1996 and also lost his father from AIDS complications. "One of the reasons why I'm open about my HIV status is that most people don't really talk about it," Cramer says. "I should utilize my personal power to bring about change."
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Since earning the crown of America's Next Drag Superstar on season three of RuPaul's Drag Race, Raja (left) hasn't paused to take in the glory. The former America's Next Top Model makeup artist released her single, "Diamond Crowned Queen," last spring and has been headlining the RuPaul's Drag Race cross-country tour.
Less than a year after graduating from Juilliard, Hahn-Bin made his debut at Carnegie Hall. And before that, there was his big premiere at the Grammy's at the age of 12. The latest from the violin prodigy is Till Dawn Sunday, a gender- and genre-defying recording. His effort to bring classical music to the pop masses won him riotous acclaim -- from even the most conservative connoisseurs.
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This year's debut record from Austra, Feel It Break, positioned the group in the forefront of New Wave–synth revival. But the ethereal, quavering vocals of Katie Stelmanis, the antithesis of a lesbian folk singer, made them truly stand out from the pack.
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He's not flashy, gimmicky, or superfluous with effects and lighting. Paul Jasmin is a photographer's photographer. This year saw the release of California Dreaming, his visual meditation on youth and his ever-present muse: Los Angeles.
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The always debonair Kotsiopoulos (left) styles a coterie of celebrities and trades barbs with Joan Rivers as a co-host for E!’s Fashion Police. Conway (middle) is the big man on campus that founded Q, Yale’s first LGBT-interest magazine. "In the spring issue, we featured a drag queen who works in our library as a security guard, and it was a bomb on campus," he says. Shangela (a.k.a. D.J. Pierce) first made waves on RuPaul’s Drag Race. This year, look for Pierce out of drag in a short film and perhaps on television soon: He taped pilots at NBC and HBO this year. "I hope to inspire the people," says the Hollywood-based entertainer who recently opened for Monique.
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The 19-year-old actor James Duke Mason (left) -- and son of Belinda Carlisle -- started the Trailblazer campaign this year, which features YouTube videos of openly gay celebs encouraging closeted entertainers and public figures to come out and be proud. After watching AIDS decimate his rural hometown, Logan Voxx, 22, founded the Positive Young People Foundation, which aims to lower infection rates among young people and provide access to HIV treatment in low-income areas.
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Occupying seven rooms of New York City's MoMA/PS1 this summer, Any Ever, the garishly Ikea-furnished video installation by Ryan Trecartin, depicted the chaotic vortex of the Digital Age in a way that was at once traumatizing, ugly, addictive, and ruthlessly funny. Dubbed "the most consequential artist to have emerged since the 1980s" by The New Yorker, Trecartin uses jarring sound bites and quick-cut narratives that assault and taunt viewers with a visual and verbal lexicon that’s both familiar and incoherent. The 30-year-old artist's work is hard to stomach and impossible to look away from, making it all the more poignant in our era of cyber bombardment.
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