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

100 Women We Love 2012

June 15, 2012
“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.

Jessica Kirson
With her aggressively goofy expressions, spot-on impressions of Jersey girls and rat-a-tat delivery, outrageously funny comedian Jessica Kirson has been on a whirlwind lately. She’s counted TV shows, comedy festivals, Olivia cruises, women’s circuit parties and tri-state comedy clubs among her recent appearances. “I love to make people laugh, period. To see people laugh is so rewarding for me,” Kirson says. “To have someone say, ‘I needed that so bad,’ or ‘I haven’t laughed like that in years’ makes me feel so good!” Her fan base is increasing from her stand-up stints on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Fresh Faces, VH1’s Awesomely Bad episodes, Bravo’s The Great Things About Being, ABC’s The View, NBC’s Last Comic Standing and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as New York’s own Homo Comicus series and many more. She’s even landed her own one-hour special, My Cookie’s Gone, on LOGO–on the strength of her hard work, antic personality and willingness to make innocent bystanders intensely uncomfortable on hidden camera. “Go for your dreams and accept yourself for exactly who you are,” she advises. “When you truly accept yourself, anything is possible.”

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