100 Women We Love 2011
It’s been a whirlwind year for Chely Wright. The award-winning country artist and songwriter stunned the conservative country music world by coming out in 2010, a difficult and life-changing decision she detailed in her 2011 autobiography, Like Me. She also released her critically-acclaimed seventh album, Lifted Off the Ground, a tour-de-force more than five emotionally-grueling years in the making. The documentary film, Wish Me Away, chronicles her journey from preparation to aftermath of her decision to come out to Nashville, her hometown, and within the LGBT community, will make its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival this summer. Her soul-searching, however, has been worth it: The newly-minted LGBT role model serves as the national spokesperson for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and speaks out against school bullying. Wright believes “that to whom much is given, much is required. I have lived a very blessed life and I know what it feels like to achieve goals. I want to do my part in helping others have as many opportunities to have milestones in their lives too.” –KL
The 100 Women We Love – out artists, elected officials, business leaders, athletes, community activists – are role models for us all. Many are up-and-coming movers and shakers; some are at the zenith of their careers. Some of their achievements change our world and, just as importantly, others improve the world’s perception of out women. They all strive tirelessly to increase our visibility and continue our incredible progress toward equality and justice.
We proudly present the class of 2011, in random order, so each gets her well-deserved turn in the spotlight.
TUCKY WILLIAMS
Actresses-slash-models are a dime-a-dozen, but Tucky Williams might be the only lesbian actress-slash-meteorologist out there. Williams is the award-winning creator, writer and star of the webseries Girl/Girl Scene, in which she plays Evan, a “narcissistic and arrogant” lady-killer who “completely rejects heteronormative social mores, particularly with regard to love and relationships.” Williams intends the webseries to send a message that she feels applies to the LGBT community as well as to the rest of the world: “Live your life as you see fit. Cultural and societal [norms] are not to be dictated, but to be overcome.” Prior to Girl/Girl Scene, she was best known as a B-movie scream queen, having appeared in midnight flicks like Dead Moon Rising and Shadows Light. “We’re lesbians, but we’re not all the same and we don’t have to play by the rules,” Williams says. “Political correctness is an intolerant and exclusive ideology that is ultimately totalitarian.” Also a trained meteorologist, she has worked on-air for the ABC affiliate station in Lexington, KY and as a yoga instructor. –DP
