my hero academia

In 2009, writer Sinclair Sexsmith devised an exhaustive list called Top Hot Butches, which catalogued some super sexy masculine women (most of them self-defined as lesbian, queer, genderqueer, or aggressive). While Sexsmith continues to update the list, we got to thinking about how — aside from Rachel Maddow, Wanda Sykes, and Ellen DeGeneres (wait, can a Cover Girl still be called butch?) — butchy gals of all persuasions still get the short shift even in lesbian media. So, we figured we’d profile 10 butch women you should have gotten to know more of in 2011.

There are few women in Hollywood hotter than Pam Grier. For Grier, The Real L Word was a catalyst to LGBT activism, and the actress has shown up at fundraisers, celebrations, and protests in support of LGBT rights, and often acts as a bridge between the straight African-American community and the LGBT world. Check out our interview!

Elder care, science, education, energy, sports… these aren’t LGBT issues, they’re people issues. These are some of the most challenging and heated areas of culture, and at the foreground are four very heroic LGBT women.