Update 1 February 2010: Voting has ended! The winner has been chosen!
Without further ado or delay, I offer you, in no particular order, the finalists for Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade (2000-2009):
picture declined for privacy
little light: A “Filipina-Ashkenazic mixed-class trans dyke mestiza”, little light has been blogging since 2004. Her writings have inspired social justice workers, trans women, queer women, women of color, and everyone who has been lucky enough to enounter her work. She is a religion scholar, charter member of the Speak! Radical Women of Color Media Collective, performance artist, and is on the advisory board of the Allied Media Conference.
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir: In February 2009, Jóhanna became Prime Minister of Iceland, and the first openly queer head of government. Elected in 1978, she is also the longest-serving member of Parliament in Iceland. She entered into a civil union with Jónína Leósdóttir in 2002.
Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins: After entering the music scene in 2001, Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins was named the country’s Best Female Artist twice in 2005 and 2007. “Don’t worry, with the heart and substance of this album, Missy will definitely speak to you in one way or another.” – Blend Music (USA) October 2007.
Sheryl Swoopes
Sheryl Swoopes: Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist (1996, 2000, 2004), first player to ever be named WNBA Most Valuable Player three times (2000, 2002, 2005), first woman to have a Nike basketball shoe after her, “[Swoopes] will always be one of the greatest ambassadors for the game of women’s basketball.” – Comets coach Van Chancellor. In 2005, she announced her long-term relationship with her partner, former Comets assistant coach Alisa Scott, with whom she is raising her son from a previous marriage.
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow: Host of the multiply award-winning and highly popular “The Rachel Maddow Show” on American national cable news, Maddow was the first openly gay Rhodes Scholar and first openly gay anchor hired to host a national cable news program in America. She has been repeatedly honored for her work in news media and her visibility as a queer woman.
Rebecca Walker
Rebecca Walker: Author, activist and speaker Rebecca Walker said the criticism from her autobiography Black White and Jewish (2000) was “everything you would expect from being a biracial, bisexual person.” Walker’s most recent memoir Baby Love (2007) recounts the birth of her son. She has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.
Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee: “[Lee has] fronted an alternative band; performed on stage; written, directed, edited and performed in short- and feature-length films; interviewed top acts on “The Nation’s Music Station”; and hosted a successful program on your parents’ favourite radio station”. – Digital Journal 2004 In 2003, Lee was almost fired by the CBC for her non-simulated sex scenes in Shortbus; in 2007, she won an award for Best Supporting Actress for the roll. Her directorial debut premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009.
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel: Author of the popular and provocative Dykes to Watch Out For from 1984-2008 and the 2006 graphic memoir Fun Times: A Family Tragicomic. “Bechdel’s long-running Dykes to Watch Out For is arguably the best comic strip going, and Fun Home is one of the very best graphic novels ever.” Booklist (Starred Review)
Julia Serano
Julia Serano: Writer, scientist, spoken word artist, musician, event curator, activist, speaker, Serano published the acclaimed Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity in 2007. She and her wife live in Berkeley, CA. [ETA Julia recently went through an amicable divorce.]
Libby Davies
Libby Davies: Canadian Member of Parliament since 1997, Davies became the first, and so far only, out woman MP in 2001 when she announced her relationship with Kimberly Elliott. In 2007 she was multiply recognized for her work in drug reform law, particularly her support for decriminalizing drug users.
**********
Vote. Link. Lobby. Start Twitter wars. Spread the word. Vote again.
Poll closes 11:59pm PST (GMT – 8 ) 31 January 2010; winner announced 1 February 2010.
Poll link removed due to voting closing. Please see And the winner is… Also answers “Where was Ellen?”
I am in debt to many people for their help, handholding, cheerleading, and prodding in the creation of this poll, most especially Shiny (who found the pictures and helped me with many of the bios) and Lucy (you know what for). Thank you.
Arwyn
In my bathroom hangs a plaque with a picture of a yin yang and the word BALANCE. I can never get it to hang straight. This probably says something deep and meaningful about my life.
I *love* Sook-Yin Lee and listen to her CBC radio show most every Saturday. I saw her on TV during the Olympics in Beijing and she just made me laugh my pants off! Everything is great about Sook-Yin!
I feel like I shouldn’t vote because I’d only heard of a couple of these women prior to reading your post, but I am excited to learn more about the others of whom this is my first glimpse. Thank you for setting this up!
Well, you have a couple weeks, so read about them, and vote anyway!
You’re very welcome! This has been, in addition to more work than I thought it would be, even more enjoyable and exciting than I thought it would be too. It truly has been my pleasure.
Where is Ellen DeGeneres???
You know, several people asked me that, and I’m not really sure how to answer.
It’s certainly not that I have anything against Ellen, and I’m glad she’s doing so well, but there were so many amazing women to choose from that I couldn’t fit them all in. And I tried to give preference to women who had done exceptional things in 2000-2009 (who were really OF that decade), and to women who were not white, cis, and American.
But, I don’t watch TV (Doctor Who on the computer doesn’t count, right?), so maybe I’m just missing something.
Wish Rep. Tammy Baldwin had been included.
Oh, I hadn’t even heard of her! I wish she had been nominated too.
Ah, indeed! She’s my rep.
She does good things for us here in WI.
Ani DiFranco? Or, does she not count because she’s in a relationship with a guy right now?
I’d hardly be the one to say she doesn’t count for that.
She was on the long list.
Hang on, you mean a woman can still be lesbian*/bi/queer even though she’s involved with a man? Wow! *brain explodes*
* Of course, a woman who’s involved with a cis man is likely to find many people decrying her continuing to identify as a lesbian, though this is usually not true if she’s involved with a trans man. YMMV.
Libby Davies is by no means the only out MP in Canada. MP Scott Brison was in the news recently after some people objected to his Christmas card featuring a picture of him with his husband and dog. Svend Robinson was actually the first Canadian MP to come out. Bill Siksay was the first openly gay MP to be elected as such. If you meant to say “first out FEMALE MP”, that is true.
Thank you for the correction! I’ve updated her entry.
What about Ellen Degeneres, Portia De Rossi, Wanda Sykes, or Rosie O’donnell?? They are missing!
I actually like the fact this isn’t a ‘usual suspects’ list. Not to disrespect any of the women Lisa mentions, all of whom are great, but I think the fact that Arwyn casts her net wider than the celebrity lesbians, and includes figures from politics, journalism, comics, sports and blogging, is a good thing. It shows the range of things lesbian and bi women can achieve. It shows the diversity of the lesbian and bi community (especially through the decision to include trans women) and it’s certainly been an educational experience for me to read all the bios.
I agree with Adam. I especially like the decision to make the list less a who’s who among American celebrities and include people from elsewhere who are perhaps less well known. Also, I don’t think any short list of ten women would please everyone and, you know, that might be a good thing. It reminds us that there are so very many lesbian and bi women who are achieving great things in a range of fields.
[...] to Raising My Boychick’s recently? If not, why not? She’s running the poll for the Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade and the votes are flying in (hopefully). The poll will only be up until the end of next week so [...]
[...] Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade — the poll! Come vote! [...]
[...] Comment Tags: Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade The fabulous Arwyn has asked us to vote for the Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade. Ten amazing, talented, beautiful, thoughtful and provoking women have been selected as [...]
Gonna have to ponder my vote but wanted to thank you for creating a list I’d want to be on. Guess I’ll have to be more obvious about my bisexuality to get in the running.
Ok, so I can’t decide between Julia Serano and Rebecca Walker, and I want to vote for both of them, ‘cos I read their books, and amongst other things I do like it when intelligent women stick it to prescriptive feminism.
However, I am also tempted to vote for Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. Simply because she is hot. Is that really bad of me?
Vote for all of them.
And no, it’s really not bad of you. Although frankly, I’d have to vote for all of them if we were just going by hotness. Ahem.
My girlfriend, everybody. Wanting to vote for Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade by hotness. sigh
Though, I do try to live up to being an intelligent woman who sticks it to prescriptive feminism.
[...] Lesbian/Bisexual Woman of the Decade — the poll! Come vote! [...]
Oh come on! Can’t I just vote for all of them? Go you fabulous women, go!!!!
The winner has been chosen! Come find out who: http://www.raisingmyboychick.com/2010/02/lesbian-bisexual-woman-of-the-decade-and-the-winner-is/