Monday, June 1, 2009
AfterEllen.com releases Hot 100
2 comments
AfterEllen.com, the popular website for queer women, has released their annual Hot 100. The Hot 100 is meant to give lesbian and bi women a voice in "mainstream, heterocentric pop culture" to identify the women they find sexy.
Portia De Rossi topped the list at #1, and Ellen DeGeneres came in at #15. Some of my favorites on the list? Ellen Page, Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Rachel Maddow, and Amanda Palmer, among many others. There are also "supplementary" lists: Hottest Women of Color, Hottest Out Women, and Hottest Women Over 40.
I love that queer women are being given the opportunity to have their voices heard, but I still yearn for more "hot 100" lists that celebrate more than a woman's looks. But I do realize that many of the women on the AfterEllen list are attractive for reasons other than looks - for example, I know Rachel Maddow was on that list for not just her androgynous hottness, but also her intelligence and passion. Still, I have to agree with Sinclair Sexsmith, author of The Sugarbutch Chronicles when he said, "according to this list, sexy women are feminine." There was undoubtedly a blatant lack of sexy genderqueer and butch women on the list.
Because of this, Sinclair Sexsmith is asking for nominations for the Hot Butches of 2009. Submit yours!
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June 1, 2009 at 1:03 PM
I honestly don't think it's the view that only feminine women are sexy. One of the things I love about the queer community is the appreciation of the large spectrum of female beauty.
I think the real problem is there's a huge lack of genderqueer and butch and androgynous people in the media spotlight. And that's obviously because the media is controlled by men.
AfterEllen readers nominate and vote for the Hot 100 list. And you can't nominate and vote for someone who isn't visible, right?
June 1, 2009 at 1:26 PM
That is definitely a good point, but I think AfterEllen could offer some more encouragement to find butch women beautiful. For example, they could do what the author of the Sugarbutch Chronicles is doing and compose a list consisting solely of androgynous women. I think the "Hot 100" is a little limiting by defining a very narrow view of beauty, and they even had to create "supplementary" lists to compensate for the lack of women of color, out women, and older women. Whether that's the fault of AfterEllen.com or our culture in general is a debatable topic. My personal opinion is that of course our patriarchal culture is primarily to blame, but I think there are certain steps that queer websites can take to encourage alternative views of beauty.