The Out 100, an annual celebration of glamorously-photographed queer excellence, debuted today with a pretty rad assortment of LGBTQ folks. In the past, the Out 100 was notorious for not only skewing wildly white and male but for always putting straight cis people on the cover. However, the straight-cover-star years appear to be behind us, and this year’s list has quite a lot of women, trans folks and people of color. (Some of your favorites don’t show up ’cause you got them last year, like Samira Wiley, Ellen Page, Lena Waithe and Evan Rachel Wood.)
99 of the Out 100 honorees are now available for your appreciation at their website. #100, their cover star, will be unveiled tomorrow. It’s not me, in case you’re wondering. I mean, it might be me, but it’s probably not me. I feel like it’s gonna be Laverne Cox. Who wants to put money on it.
The Out 100 Press Release emphasized that Caitlyn Jenner has been honored as Newsmaker of the Year. This feels like an accurate assessment as Caitlyn Jenner did, indeed, make a great deal of news this year.
Ryan Pfluger for OUT Magazine
Other women earning high honors include:
She of Portlandia, Transparent, Sleater-Kinney and your sexual dreams, is Artist of the Year. She just wrote a book called Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, I bet you’d like it.
“There’s always been a strain of humility in my work, a relationship to what is awkward and the ways I feel like I don’t belong. I don’t value a way of living that protects me from grit and dirtiness and messiness.”
Photography by Ryan Pfluger at Tribeca Journal Studio, New York, on October 5, 2015. Styling by Michael Cook. Hair: Rheanne White. Makeup: Kim Bower. Dress by Michael Kors.
She just retired much to our collective sadness and is OUT’s Athlete of the Year:
“I feel so lucky, because when I was first on the team, there were really no gay people. The girls were like, ‘No, we’re straight.’ They had long hair and ponytails. And now you see this eclectic group of people from all different places, who are different colors, with different preferences. That’s the thing I’m most proud of.”
Photography by Ryan Pfluger at Milk Studios, new york, on October 6, 2015. Styling by Michael Cook. Hair: Naivasha at Exclusive Artists management. Makeup: Angela DiCarlo. Shirt and pants by Nike. via out magazine
Alicia Garza is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter and special projects director for the National Domestic Worker’s Alliance:
“To see how black people all over the world have embraced Black Lives Matter is awe-inspiring. The best moments are when black people stop me in the street and share with me the impact that BLM has had on their lives and on their faith that another world is actually possible.”
Photography by Ryan Pfluger in Washington, D.C., on October 5, 2015
Alison Bechdel told Out Magazine:
“It’s not about sex, it’s about identity — which is perhaps even more threatening. In the play it’s a brilliant thing, but to reach that broader audience of people watching television? Who knows what the average viewer thought? Even if it’s not about sexuality, but about a child having awareness and subjective power, it’s kind of revolutionary.”
Photography by Ryan Pfluger in brooklyn, on September 1, 2015. Styling by Marc Anthony George. Hair and Makeup: Angela DiCarlo. Roberta Colindrez: Jacket by Elie Tahari available at Bloomingdale’s, Pants by Reiss available at Bloomingdale’s. Joel Perez: Suit, shirt, and tie by Prada, Shoes by Florsheim.
Roxane Gay is your favorite Bad Feminist.
“It’s OK to believe in your voice. And to use it.”
Photography by Ryan Pfluger. Photographed in Beverly Hills on August 19, 2015.
The full list includes lots your fave babes, like actresses Hannah Hart, Lily Tomlin and Cynthia Nixon. Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez of “Tangerine” also ranked, as did trans activists Bamby Salcedo, Breanna Sinclairé, Jennicet Gutiérrez and Jen Richards. Also they included Roland Emmerich, who made a terrible movie called Stonewall, maybe you’ve heard of it. You can check out the full list here.