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.

Mollie Thomas
“When I began my campaign for Miss California, I set my personal goal at inspiring just one person to love who they are,” Mollie Thomas says, “and knowing that my campaign has touched so many people from all over the world is the most rewarding feeling I can imagine.“ At 19, Thomas is one of the first two openly gay women to compete for Miss California USA. Not your typical teenager, Thomas is using her prominence as a platform to speak out and stand up for the entire LGBTQ community. She recently founded Team Equality, a not-for-profit mission to combat stereotypes while promoting acceptance and tolerance through positive visibility in mainstream media. Team Equality’s first PSA, “Everyone Deserves Love,” directed by photographer Jen Rosenstein, has tens of thousands of views on YouTube in just a few months without any external promotion. After growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania and spending time traveling the world, Thomas feels that she has experienced a life comparable to that of many women twice her age.

You might also like...