M. Can Yaşar
Groundbreakers
The 2025 Out100: Well-Strung
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
The NYC-based string quartet Well-Strung — composed of hunky members Edmund Bagnell, Chris Marchant, Daniel Shevlin, and Trevor Wadleigh — has been pulling at queer heartstrings since 2012.
Aside from being an all-gay group, another unique trait is that they sing as well as play, bridging “classical and pop, transforming seemingly divergent genres into a unified sound,” notes the group. “By weaving vocals into the traditional quartet format, we highlight surprising connections between musical worlds that are often kept apart.”
This year, Well-Strung is especially proud of “holding firm to who we are and what we represent in a time when the administration seems intent on silencing voices at the margins. To keep creating, sharing, and existing authentically is an act of resistance we are proud of.”
“As queer people, we’ve had to examine who we are and find our place in the world,” they add. “Not everyone has had that same journey, so our message is to lead with empathy and humanity — stay open to conversation and give people the space to grow, even across difference.” @wellstrung
Courtesy
Trudy RingTrudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate's senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she's interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud "old movie weirdo" and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
The 2025 Out100: Nicolas Talbott
These are the LGBTQ+ people making the world bolder and brighter in 2025.
Courtesy
Nicolas Talbott completed Army Officer Candidate School in January after spending over nine years working to enlist in the U.S. military. “Earning my commission as a second lieutenant was a lifelong goal of mine, and achieving that goal was a dream come true,” he says.
Now his position in the Army Reserve is threatened by Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the transgender military ban, as Talbott is a trans man. But he’s fighting back as the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit Talbott v. USA.
“I’ll be continuing to challenge the current ban on transgender military service while remaining in my Army unit for as long as I can,” he says. “I’m also always exploring options to further my education and experiences and to just make the most I can out of life.”
“Trans folks are just like anyone else out there,” he adds. “At the end of the day, we’re all just people trying to live our lives and find our happiness — nobody should be making that process harder for anyone else.” @nic_talbott