ALL SECTIONS Lifestyle Women More юиЩ Web Design Studio юиХ › Lifestyle › Women › Life Meet the amazing LGBT women who defined 2015 юиЫ share юиЭ юиЫ юиЭ MHAIRI BLACK, ILENE CHAIKEN AND CARRIE BROWNSTEIN By Kaite Welsh 31 DECEMBER 2015 • 8:00AM arlier this year, the Independent on Sunday came out with their 2015 Rainbow List of the 101 Emost influential LGBTI people in the UK. I was number 100, meaning I have slightly less influence than, say, the phenomonally talented actor Rebecca Root, but more than Conservative MP Crispin Blunt (although he would beat me in a list of ‘people whose names sound like slang for marijuana’). ADVERTISING It ticked an item off my bucket list unexpectedly early – next up is ‘become the new Doctor Who’ so watch out, Peter Capaldi. But it also got me thinking about the LGBT women who have defined my 2015. Here they are: Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria has been flying the flag for fat butch dykes for years, but the third season of TV show Orange is the New Black gave her the biggest platform yet. DeLaria (left) with Natasha Lyonne in Orange Is The New Black It was the turn of her character Big Boo to get an entire episode dedicated to exploring her backstory. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when she turned to her disapproving parents and told them “I refuse to be invisible.” Carrie Brownstein The Portlandia star and Sleater-Kinney frontwoman brought out her hotly anticipated memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl this autumn. Carrie Brownstein performs with Sleater-Kinney at the Roundhouse in London CREDIT: REX Recounting her early years raised by an anorexic mother and a closeted gay father through to life as a key figure in the riot grrrl movement, it’s one of the best books about music, queerness and feminism in recent years. Mhairi Black The political success story of the year, if not the decade, Black swept to victory as the SNP candidate for Paisley, displacing Douglas Alexander from what was once a Labour stronghold before she’d even finished her degree. At 21, she was the youngest MP elected in 350 years. Mhairi Black CREDIT: ALLAN MILLIGAN She got a first and went on to become one of Scotland’s favourite public figures after her maiden speech in the House of Commons went viral. Props. Caitlin Stasey Not content with starring in hit feminist costume drama Reign (think The Tudors but with less nudity and more female empowerment than a Women’s Studies lecture) queer actress Caitlin Stasey made headlines in January when she launched Herself.com. Caitlin Stasey, the creator of herself.com CREDIT: JENNIFER TOOLE The website interviews non-famous women about sex and body image, and is packed to the rafters with non-exploitative, un-airbrushed images of naked women that she describes as “female form in all its honesty without the burden of the male gaze.” On top of that, she’s a gifted actor and her Twitter account bristles with righteous anger. Susan Herr Thanks to Herr’s style website DapperQ, I now know what a pocket square is - and how much I need one. A teacher and activist, she started the cult fashion blog for butch and androgynous women, proving that fashion isn’t just for femmes. Roz Kaveney Poet, critic and former deputy chair of Liberty, Kaveney was a founding member of Feminists Against Censorship and can most often be found writing about pop culture and trans rights. Roz Kaveney CREDIT: YOUTUBE Her semi-autobiographical novel, Tiny Pieces of Skull, published earlier this year, tackles sex work, transphobia and love - with Kaveney’s customary brand of empathy, wit and fury. Ilene Chaiken The L Word was guilty pleasure viewing for queer women - as if Carrie Bradshaw had opted for the same sex but a different city. At a time when lesbian representation was usually limited to one or two queer women in a plotline billed as “controversial,” we had an entire show to ourselves – a surfeit of Sapphists, a plethora of power dykes, a cornucopia of cunning linguists. Ilene Chaiken CREDIT: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER While straight girls wondered if they were more of a Carrie or a Samantha, we finally got to play too – were we androgynous ladykiller Shane, ambitious but self-destructive Bette or pretentious, egocentric Jenny? These days Chaiken is producing US hit Empire, a drama about a hip-hop dynasty that’s chock full of LGBT characters. Rachel Maddow The political pundit who mixes a mean cocktail, Stanford and Oxford-educated Maddow wrote her PhD in HIV and healthcare reform in prisons and has been hosting her daily news show since 2008, making her the first openly gay or lesbian host of a prime-time news program in the US. Rachel Maddow CREDIT: MEDIAPUNCH/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK She’s wry and intellectual but not afraid to see the funny side of politics – which, when an Apprentice star is legitimately running for President, is probably a good thing. Eileen Myles The poet and author is having a much-deserved renaissance following the reissue of her cult novel Chelsea Girls, earlier this year. Eileen Myles CREDIT: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/2015 GETTY IMAGES Working class and an outspoken feminist who has challenged sexism in the literary world, she’s intellectual without being inaccessible, a punk rock poet in the vein of Patti Smith. With 21 books to her name and hopefully more to come, there’s never been a better time to discover her. Ruth Hunt The Stonewall CEO made history after correcting a decade’s-long imbalance and extending Stonewall’s work to include campaigning for transgender issues. Ruth Hunt Smart, unflappable and upfront about her Christian faith, she’s said that she finds it harder to come out as a Catholic than a lesbian. Let us know your LGBT heroes on Twitter @TeleWonderWomen. юиЫ share юиЭ юиЫ юиЭ юиЫ share юиЭ юиЫ юиЭ юиЫ share юиЭ юиЫ юиЭ The Telegraph Like Page 2.8m likes Promoted stories Recommended by Ever look yourself The Fastest Way To Pay Off Credit up? This new site is Pay Off $10,000 In Cards Years Earlier addicting. 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