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.

K. Rocco Shields
With her long and enviable resume in film and TV—first as a sought-after editor and script supervisor, now as a director and entrepreneur—it’s shocking to learn that K. Rocco Shields is barely out of her twenties. The wildly accomplished filmmaker is best known for her unique short film, Love is All You Need?, which imagines a world where homosexuality is the norm and tells the story of Ashley, a girl with a crush on a boy at school. Ashley becomes the constant target of heterophobic abuse until she is driven to a tragic end. Shields intended the film to shed light on teen suicide and bullying, and it has appeared in more than 20 film festivals. It is quickly being adapted for educational use and will be launched into schools across the country. “I wanted to make films that could make a difference, like Love Is All You Need?—I truly believe that cinema can promote social change, because film has the power to reach the masses and really open the eyes of people who never get to see the multiple sides of today’s most pressing issues,” Shields explains. She’s now developing the short film into a feature-length movie for her production company, Wingspan Pictures, with a top casting agency on board.

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