In Alphabetical Order
This category celebrates LGBT+ people that have used their online presence to speak out about LGBT+ issues or rights.
Calle Y Poche
The duo most known as Calle y Poche (Daniela Calle and María José Garzón) ar some of the most well known and successful Latin American influencers. With a TikTok following of 4 million, and an additional 5 million followers in Instagram, these stars have skyrocketed their careers since their vlogging origins in 2015. Since coming out in 2017, Daniela and Maria have become LGBT+ role models, co-hosting the MTV Millenial Awards where they shared an iconic on-stage kiss.
Charlie Allan
Scottish online impactor Charlie has amounted a following of more than half a million on TikTok alone, due to his honest and funny documentation of his transition, including his experience of gender-affirming surgery, HRT and providing a space to de-mystify people’s understanding of transitioning.
DJ KYRSTAL LAKE
London-based DJ, influencer and filmmaker Krystal Lake has blown up on TikTok over lockdown. Focusing on “stuff schools don’t teach”, Krystal’s TikTok ranges from teaching the history of Pride and ancient queer Egyptian pharaohs to the history of the word ‘Black’. Offline, Krystal doubles as Ashnikko’s DJ and host of Far Out on Soho Radio. Having grown a young and active audience of more than 400,000 TikTok followers, she’s also an official member of TikTok’s Black Trailblazer Programme and has teamed up with Gay Times to spread her message through education panels, with plans for her own production house.
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JAMES BARR & DAN HUDSON
James Barr and Dan Hudson are the hosts of the UK’s top-rated LGBT+ podcast, ‘A Gay and a Non Gay’ which has amounted over 5 million listens, and won the Bronze Award for Best Entertainment Podcast at the 2021 British Podcast Awards. You might recognise this dynamic duo from their BBC iPlayer documentary ‘Sashay To Hell’ or their BBC Sounds series, where they tackled the subject of conversion therapy in Northern Ireland. The pair have been featured on the cover of Attitude magazine, and have smashed a critically acclaimed 5 star run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
JAMIE RAINES/JAMMI DODGER
Jamie Raines first made his name through his YouTube videos, where he covers topics such as trans rights and mental health. Jamie has used his platform to discuss and document his gender transition, including his experience of hormone replacement therapy, and gender confirmation surgery. For his 800,00 YouTube subscribers, Jamie’s platform has provided a safe space to learn and explore the topic of gender identity, whilst also sharing more about his personal journey.
KYLE DE VOLLE
Successful designer, stylist, creative director and model in his own right, Kyle De’Volle has made a name online through his gender-fluid and personality-driven approach to fashion. With a renowned background in A-list styling but as a style icon himself, De’Volle has contributed greatly to British fashion, with credits and featuring in everything from Vogue, Glamour, Gay Times, and fronting campaigns for Missguided, Wandler, VIU eyewear and The Outnet, just to name a few.
Photo credits to Rebecca Need-Menear
Mawaan Rizwan
Mawaan is an actor, writer and comedian. He has starred in Sky One’s Two Weeks to Live, the BBC’s Bafta-winning Murdered by My Father and featured on Channel 4’s Taskmaster. Mawaan supported Jonathan Van Ness on tour, co-hosted Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club and performed on Live at the Apollo. In 2015, Mawaan travelled to Pakistan for the BBC documentary How Gay is Pakistan, which explored the issues faced by the LGBT+ community there. He wrote two episodes of Netflix’s Sex Education, leading to his inclusion in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2020, and has since been named BBC’s first Young People’s Comedy Laureate.
RUDY JEAN RIGG
Rudy Jean Rigg is a tiktokker, regular ‘teacher’ on the TikTok channel, Rainbow History Class. The channel has currently 417,000 followers and 9.2 million likes. Rainbow History Class is a home for queer and trans stories from history that inspire, validate, bring gratitude, make you laugh and even help you win an argument. Rudy is an Australian Creator and Presenter who has influenced and educated many.
SEBB ARGO & DION YORKIE
Popular creators Sebb and Dion have created an audience of more than 1.5 million combined YouTube users due to their fun and viral content, which often features a look into their love story. These artists are unapologetically themselves both on social media and through their original pop music hits. Their passion to create knows no bounds.
YASMIN BENOIT
Yasmin is a British model, asexual activist, writer and speaker. Beginning her career as a lingerie model, she publicly came out as asexual in 2017 and quickly became a leading voice for the community. Described as “the unlikely face of asexuality” by Cosmopolitan, she started the #ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike movement for diverse asexual visibility and representation and co-founded International Asexuality Day (April 6). Her unconventional approach to activism has been covered throughout the British and international press, including Vogue, MTV, Sky News, Paper, Attitude and the BBC.
