Thursday, April 11, 2013

5 Reasons why Out Magazine's Power List is Problematic


Every year, Out Magazine puts out this tired list of Power Gays. This list seems to forget many things, like actual gay folks, people of color, you name it. But before I go off on a tangent, I want to point out a few reasons why their list is very messy.
  1. Out of the 50 power gays only 4 were people of color.
  2. There were NO trans people listed. As if Janet Mock or Allyson Robinson did nothing at all recently.
  3. They added folks that are not out on the list. Shep Smith? He hasn't publicly come out so what the frak?
  4. With some of these power players, it is not clear why they are on the list. It feels like they bought their way on this list. I haven't heard anything about how some of these power peeps contribute to the LGBT civil rights fight.
  5. When confronted about the absence of trans people on Buzzfeed, OUT editor Aaron Hicklin said 'I can't artificially inflate the power of trans people to make myself (or you) feel better'. Really? Really, Aaron? That is a foolish and stupid thing to say. If you can make room for Perez Hilton, you can make room for people like Allyson Robinson and Mara Keisling.
In all, this list does nothing for us. I wish OUT Magazine would take the time to create a strong and credible list. If the list is not inclusive or reflective of the times, then what's the point? All it does is reaffirms White privilege and stereotypical mess.

That's not how we should celebrate LGBT accomplishments.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Go in, and let have!

WilsonW said...

You know what Vik. This is part of the reason I stopped subscribing to OUT. I don't expect them to have any people of color or trans on the list when they don't seem to be the least bit concerned with actually covering the trans or gay minority communities in any way shape or form.

It's like how our music culture is. Every negro I know, knows who Luther Vandross is. He's an ICON within the African American community. But since he hasn't had many POP hits. His success is completely disregarded. You aren't successful unless you cross over. Sadly, our success isn't notable unless we are doing it for their community and manage to land on their radar. Unless you're Michael Jackson or Prince, you aren't gonna make the list.

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.