100 Women We Love, Queer Women We Love, Wonder Women

100 Women We Love 2012

June 15, 2012 Destiny Dejesus

“Knowing that my election showed Charlotteans and the world that we are not bound by discrimination wakes me every morning with pride,” proclaims LaWana Mayfield, the City Council representative for District 3 in Charlotte, NC, and the city’s first openly gay elected official. Last November, she trounced her Republican opponent in the council election with 78 percent of the vote, replacing an eight-year incumbent. Now, continuously building on her 15 years of activism, her other leadership posts include the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, Mecklenburg County Development Corp. Board, Smart Start Board and the Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Fund Board of Advisors. Prior to the election, Mayfield took an active role in LGBT activism as the Human Rights Campaign’s Diversity Co-Chair. “I believe that my role, along with growing the City of Charlotte, is to open the door for LGBTQ dialogue and to create pathways to service. I have this amazing opportunity to help direct the growth of the City of Charlotte through my vote,” Mayfield says. “I am right where I am supposed to be, and I love my job!”

Drum roll, please! We’re excited to present this year’s 100 Women We Love—our most diverse group of out entertainers, artists, athletes, activists, business principals and elected officials yet. Each of these women is a superstar in her own right. Their achievements and contributions shape our lives —and elevate us in the eyes of the world . They’re working to raise LGBT awareness, increase our visibility and quicken our progress toward a just society.

We are extremely proud to present the class of 2012. There are no rankings or numbers. They are all leaders.

Ellie Conant
Sapphic sailors and fetching mermaids. Tattooed ladies and inked-up creatures. A Halloween parade of day-glo goblins and sexy sirens. Just the usual crowd at Choice NYC, the party brainchild of nightlife promoter Ellie Conant, a.k.a. The Gaysha. Taking cues from the art/event producing collective Kostume Kult, Conant designs each monthly Choice installment to celebrate the avant-garde and encourage a free-spirit vibe. “My goal for the past eight years has been to create spaces that allow us to be exactly who we are, without falling under the oppressive glare of the ‘straight world,’” she says. “Although I’ve thrown some pretty dope parties, my job is never done. There must be safe spaces for lesbians to gather, and the responsibility of creating gatherings and being consistent falls squarely on the shoulders of anybody who declares herself to be a promoter.” Before launching Choice, Conant helmed the long-running party Snapshot with Sir Sabrina and Shana Fried, earning the respect of her after-dark peers. “Ellie holds the torch for nightlife for queer women in NYC,” adds hard-working showman Murray Hill. “She hasn’t wavered her dedication and unbridled enthusiasm in all the years I’ve known her.”