100 Women We Love Class of 2010

As the first decade of the new millennium comes to an end, we take a moment to celebrate 100 out lesbians who have made the past year one of inspiring change and amazing progress.

Melissa Febos

In Whip Smart, memoirist and former GO contributor Melissa Febos lays bare her past career as a dominatrix. From role play to rubber costumes, Febos gives the reader a sharp portrait of this world and its emotional impact. “It’s terrifying, and liberating at the same time,” she says of revealing her former life. These days Febos teaches at SUNY Purchase and NYU, and hosts the monthly Mixer Reading and Music Series at Cake Shop in New York City. “If Whip Smart has a message, it is one of self-acceptance,” she explains. “And, I hope it suggests that we often don’t know as much as we think we do about ourselves and other people; the world becomes a bigger, more interesting place when we figure that out.” -CB


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