Out has this week issued its second annual Power 50 list of the “most influential gays and lesbians in America.” I’m always interested in these kinds of lists because I’m fascinated by who media thinks is influential and why.
This year’s list is sure to spark controversy with its prominent inclusion of notable individuals who have not publicly said whether or not they are LGBT. In that category this year are Anderson Cooper (at No. 3) and Jodie Foster (at No. 13). Eddy has blogged on them in the past and tackled the tough issue of what non-communication about a person’s sexual orientation means or should mean.
For the purposes of Out’s list, I suppose the point is that whether these individuals are “out” or not is beside the point: they’re perceived to be LGBT and they exert a lot of influence, ergo they should be listed on an accounting of the “most powerful.” What do you think? It’s a tough question that goes to the heart of how we communicate, what we say and why that is important.
By the way, I was really curious to see a few other folks we’ve blogged about show up on the list as well: Scott Rudin was ranked No. 11, Suze Orman came in at No. 24, Tim Gunn was ranked at No. 28, Randy Lovely hit No. 35, and Martina Navratilova landed at No. 46.
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I think it says something that the list of 50 only contains the names of 14 women. Over at Mombian, I’ve come up with my own list of over 40 powerful people who are not only lesbians, but also moms. (http://www.mombian.com/2008/04/08/the-most-powerful-lesbian-moms-in-america/)
If I can do that, surely Out could have found a few more lesbians, parents or not. Not that there has to be a perfect balance, but the list seems rather skewed as it stands. Or is Out making the point that power still rests largely with men in our society? I’d have to agree there.
Still, as one of my commenters pointed out, the absence of U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin is particularly notable.
Influence means ability to change important things – public opinion, corporate direction, policy – does Ellen’s frothy television show do ANY of that? Do her occasional aw-shucks, G-rated mentions of her sexuality make any sort of significant difference? She has stated that her show is meant to be pleasant, not controversial. Well, pleasant doesn’t influence, and it doesn’t convey any sort of power. If anything, she has made a promise to her viewers never to user her power in a way that could upset them.
Hello Dana and Mary. Thanks for your comments.
Dana – you make a really good point (as usual). I’m also kind of surprised by what seem like obvious omissions when these lists come out. Not just in terms of specific people (like Tammy Baldwin who I agree was overlooked in the Out list), but of lesbians, trans people or others in general. I’m going to check out your list – it sounds interesting.
Mary – Well said (again, as usual). I might have agreed with you about Ellen a few weeks/months ago, but she has been more vocal recently on the Sally Kern issue and other topics in which she has been very straightforward (pardon the pun) about calling out anti-gay behavior and in using her “bully pulpit” to do so. I’m not suggesting that she should be ranked at #1, but I do think she has place on the list somewhere if only for the (previously) subtle and (now) not-so-subtle influence she wields.