A list of notable LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically.
Albania
Elton Ilirjani was the first CEO of a major company in Albania who came out of the closet as
gay[1] in 2016.[2] He is the founder of the Dignity Global[3] non-government organization for LGBT rights in the workplace, founded in 2019. He is also known as an LGBT activist[4] and model, making history as the first
genderless model to walk Seoul Fashion Week in 2023.[5]
Argentina
Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partner were the first lesbian couple to form a civil union in Latin America; vice president of FALGBT[6]
María Rachid, politician and LGBT rights activist, partner of Claudia Castrosín Verdú[6]
Diana Sacayán, board member of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and a leader of the Antidiscrimination Liberation Movement[7]
Funeka Soldaat, leader of Free Gender Organisation in Khayelitsha, Western Cape[181]
Midi Achmat, LGBT activist, co-founder of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Association of Bisexuals, Gays, and Lesbians (ABIGALE) and the National Coalition of Lesbian and Gay Equality (NCLGE)[182][183]
Jeremy Bentham, 19th-century jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer.[205]
Bette Bourne, actor, performer, founder of the Gay theatrical troupe Bloolips, and one of the first modern-day UK LGBTQ+ activists and campaigners.[206]
Stephen Whittle, trans rights campaigner and former vice president of PfC and president of
HBIGDA, Law Professor at
MMU, awarded
OBE for work with PfC and on the GRB[234]
Jennifer Finney Boylan (1958 - ), transgender author, professor, and trans rights activist, former co-chair of
GLAAD's National Board of Directors.[246]
Gloria Casarez (1971–2014), Latina lesbian civil rights leader and LGBT activist in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's first director of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) affairs.
Ryan Cassata, American transgender activist, public speaker and singer-songwriter[252]
RuPaul Andre Charles, known as RuPaul, American drag queen and gay activist known for the TV show RuPaul's Drag Race[254]
Madonna Louise Ciccone, known as
Madonna (born 1958), entertainer and long-term human and civil rights activist; has offered outspoken support for the gay rights movement[255]
Aaron Fricke (born 1962), sued the
Cumberland, Rhode Island school system in 1980 and won a landmark First Amendment case granting him the legal right to attend prom with another boy,[245] an experience he chronicled in the gay coming-of-age memoir Reflections of a Rock Lobster
Hardy Haberman, author, filmmaker, prominent member of the Leather/Fetish/BDSM community, and activist involved in founding of first LGBT group in Dallas, TX[281]
David M. Hall, author of Allies at Work: Creating a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Inclusive Work Environment, speaks to corporate audiences across the country, co-founder of
Out & Equal Philadelphia.[282]
John Paul Hudson (1929–2002), activist, journalist, actor, and author; helped organize NYC's first gay pride parade following the Stonewall riots, serving as the parade's first grand marshal[287]
Sally Huffer (born 1965), board member of multiple LGBT non profit organizations[288]
Janice Langbehn (born 1968), campaigner for same-sex marriage and same-sex hospital visitation after being denied access to her dying partner, Lisa Marie Pond, in 2007[301]
Cyndi Lauper (born 1953), founder of the True Colors Fund charity which promotes equality for members of the LGBT community[302]
Courtney Love (born 1964), a musician and singer, has advocated for LGBT rights and acceptance since the beginning of her career in the early 1990s[305][306][307][308]
Scott Long (born 1963), executive director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at
Human Rights Watch.[245]
Ruth Simpson (1926–2008), founder of the first lesbian community center, former President of Daughters of Bilitis New York, author of From the Closet to the Courts[245]
Urvashi Vaid (1958–2022) is an Indian-American activist who has worked for over 25 years promoting civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons.[245][341]
Phill Wilson (born 1956, Chicago, Illinois), co-founder of the National Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum and founder of The Black AIDS Institute.[342][343]
William E. Woods (1949–2008), a gay rights activist in Hawaii who in 1991 set in motion the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.[346]
^"A broken promise of our nationhood; Federation has not been inclusive of all Australians, argues Rodney Croome, and has to be regarded as a failure". Canberra Times (Australia). 26 November 2001. p. 9.
^Maxwell, Charlotte (13 August 2016).
"Celebrating Míriam Martinho". Vada Magazine. Míriam Martinho is a leading feminist journalist and LGBT activist in Brazil.
^Lydia Polgreen (9 January 2009). "9 in Senegal To Be Jailed For 8 Years". The New York Times. p. 5. The men were arrested on Dec. 19 at the home of Diadji Diouf, a prominent gay activist who works with AIDS organizations to prevent the spread of the disease in the largely clandestine gay community in Senegal, according to Joel Nana, a program associate for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.Fact
^Buckley, Ed (27 March 2013).
"Countdown to gay marriage". The City Paper Bogotá. Other prominent gay leaders in Colombia include...Vigilio Barco Isakson
^Wockner, Rex (16 July 2009).
"Pride Around the World". San Francisco Bay Times. Archived from
the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2020. Organizers gave an award to bisexual author Sofi Oksanen for her activism on behalf of GLBT people in the neighboring Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Russia.
^Han, John J. (2006).
"Mary Dorcey". In Gonzalez, Alexander G. (ed.). Irish Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 102.
ISBN978-0-313-32883-1.
^Carolan, Mary (25 September 2015).
"My country finally recognised me for who I really am". The Irish Times. Transgender rights activist Lydia Foy has finally received an Irish birth certificate after a 22-year legal battle for recognition in Ireland of her female gender.
^"Gay archive handed over to National Library". The Irish Times. 17 June 2008. At an event marking the formal transfer of the collection known as the Irish Queer Archive curator Tonie Walsh said it was highly significant that the State was finally taking ownership of lesbian, gay and transgender heritage
^"Patria Jimenez". Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. She works on issues of homophobic violence, violations of basic rights, sexual and sexuality education, cultural activism, and awareness of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
^Reynolds, Andrew (2018). The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World. Oxford University Press. pp. 103–105.
ISBN9780190460952.
^Skiffington, Toni. (1 February 1997). 'Derek came out to find success and become a role model'. Page 14 (full page). The Daily Post (
Rotorua, New Zealand)
^
abcdPower, Lisa (1995). No Bath But Plenty Of Bubbles: An Oral History Of The Gay Liberation Front 1970-7. Cassell. p. 340 pages.
ISBN978-0-304-33205-2.
^Abbitt, Diane (16 May 2018).
"Queery: John Jude Duran". Los Angeles Blade: LGBTQ News, Rights, Politics, Entertainment.
^Eaklor, Vicki L. (2004).
"Endean, Steve". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
^Kennedy, Joe, and Jack Nichols. "John Paul Hudson—Stonewall Era Author & Activist Dies at 73." Gay Today: A Global Site for Daily Gay News, gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/022502ev.htm.
^Rapp, Linda (2006).
"Jennings, William Dale". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
^Gianoulis, Tina (2006).
"Jones, Cleve". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
^Brandman, Mariana.
"Audre Lorde". National Women's History Museum.
^Love, Courtney (28 October 1997). "1997 VH1 Fashion Awards". VH1 Fashion Awards. VH1. I think that great personal style is being true to yourself and speaking your mind, which, since I'm up here, I'm going to do. I feel that keeping gay people in the closet with our attitudes and action is cruel, and it's tacky, and most of all, it's boring. I think that we really need to respect each other and ourselves and respect who we are and what we are, and not be afraid to be what we are, whether we're gay, or straight, or insane [...] It's 1997 and respecting each other's sexuality is about the coolest thing I can think of.
A list of notable LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically.
Albania
Elton Ilirjani was the first CEO of a major company in Albania who came out of the closet as
gay[1] in 2016.[2] He is the founder of the Dignity Global[3] non-government organization for LGBT rights in the workplace, founded in 2019. He is also known as an LGBT activist[4] and model, making history as the first
genderless model to walk Seoul Fashion Week in 2023.[5]
Argentina
Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partner were the first lesbian couple to form a civil union in Latin America; vice president of FALGBT[6]
María Rachid, politician and LGBT rights activist, partner of Claudia Castrosín Verdú[6]
Diana Sacayán, board member of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and a leader of the Antidiscrimination Liberation Movement[7]
Funeka Soldaat, leader of Free Gender Organisation in Khayelitsha, Western Cape[181]
Midi Achmat, LGBT activist, co-founder of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Association of Bisexuals, Gays, and Lesbians (ABIGALE) and the National Coalition of Lesbian and Gay Equality (NCLGE)[182][183]
Jeremy Bentham, 19th-century jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer.[205]
Bette Bourne, actor, performer, founder of the Gay theatrical troupe Bloolips, and one of the first modern-day UK LGBTQ+ activists and campaigners.[206]
Stephen Whittle, trans rights campaigner and former vice president of PfC and president of
HBIGDA, Law Professor at
MMU, awarded
OBE for work with PfC and on the GRB[234]
Jennifer Finney Boylan (1958 - ), transgender author, professor, and trans rights activist, former co-chair of
GLAAD's National Board of Directors.[246]
Gloria Casarez (1971–2014), Latina lesbian civil rights leader and LGBT activist in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's first director of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) affairs.
Ryan Cassata, American transgender activist, public speaker and singer-songwriter[252]
RuPaul Andre Charles, known as RuPaul, American drag queen and gay activist known for the TV show RuPaul's Drag Race[254]
Madonna Louise Ciccone, known as
Madonna (born 1958), entertainer and long-term human and civil rights activist; has offered outspoken support for the gay rights movement[255]
Aaron Fricke (born 1962), sued the
Cumberland, Rhode Island school system in 1980 and won a landmark First Amendment case granting him the legal right to attend prom with another boy,[245] an experience he chronicled in the gay coming-of-age memoir Reflections of a Rock Lobster
Hardy Haberman, author, filmmaker, prominent member of the Leather/Fetish/BDSM community, and activist involved in founding of first LGBT group in Dallas, TX[281]
David M. Hall, author of Allies at Work: Creating a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Inclusive Work Environment, speaks to corporate audiences across the country, co-founder of
Out & Equal Philadelphia.[282]
John Paul Hudson (1929–2002), activist, journalist, actor, and author; helped organize NYC's first gay pride parade following the Stonewall riots, serving as the parade's first grand marshal[287]
Sally Huffer (born 1965), board member of multiple LGBT non profit organizations[288]
Janice Langbehn (born 1968), campaigner for same-sex marriage and same-sex hospital visitation after being denied access to her dying partner, Lisa Marie Pond, in 2007[301]
Cyndi Lauper (born 1953), founder of the True Colors Fund charity which promotes equality for members of the LGBT community[302]
Courtney Love (born 1964), a musician and singer, has advocated for LGBT rights and acceptance since the beginning of her career in the early 1990s[305][306][307][308]
Scott Long (born 1963), executive director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at
Human Rights Watch.[245]
Ruth Simpson (1926–2008), founder of the first lesbian community center, former President of Daughters of Bilitis New York, author of From the Closet to the Courts[245]
Urvashi Vaid (1958–2022) is an Indian-American activist who has worked for over 25 years promoting civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons.[245][341]
Phill Wilson (born 1956, Chicago, Illinois), co-founder of the National Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum and founder of The Black AIDS Institute.[342][343]
William E. Woods (1949–2008), a gay rights activist in Hawaii who in 1991 set in motion the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.[346]
^"A broken promise of our nationhood; Federation has not been inclusive of all Australians, argues Rodney Croome, and has to be regarded as a failure". Canberra Times (Australia). 26 November 2001. p. 9.
^Maxwell, Charlotte (13 August 2016).
"Celebrating Míriam Martinho". Vada Magazine. Míriam Martinho is a leading feminist journalist and LGBT activist in Brazil.
^Lydia Polgreen (9 January 2009). "9 in Senegal To Be Jailed For 8 Years". The New York Times. p. 5. The men were arrested on Dec. 19 at the home of Diadji Diouf, a prominent gay activist who works with AIDS organizations to prevent the spread of the disease in the largely clandestine gay community in Senegal, according to Joel Nana, a program associate for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.Fact
^Buckley, Ed (27 March 2013).
"Countdown to gay marriage". The City Paper Bogotá. Other prominent gay leaders in Colombia include...Vigilio Barco Isakson
^Wockner, Rex (16 July 2009).
"Pride Around the World". San Francisco Bay Times. Archived from
the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2020. Organizers gave an award to bisexual author Sofi Oksanen for her activism on behalf of GLBT people in the neighboring Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Russia.
^Han, John J. (2006).
"Mary Dorcey". In Gonzalez, Alexander G. (ed.). Irish Women Writers: An A-to-Z Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 102.
ISBN978-0-313-32883-1.
^Carolan, Mary (25 September 2015).
"My country finally recognised me for who I really am". The Irish Times. Transgender rights activist Lydia Foy has finally received an Irish birth certificate after a 22-year legal battle for recognition in Ireland of her female gender.
^"Gay archive handed over to National Library". The Irish Times. 17 June 2008. At an event marking the formal transfer of the collection known as the Irish Queer Archive curator Tonie Walsh said it was highly significant that the State was finally taking ownership of lesbian, gay and transgender heritage
^"Patria Jimenez". Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. She works on issues of homophobic violence, violations of basic rights, sexual and sexuality education, cultural activism, and awareness of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
^Reynolds, Andrew (2018). The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World. Oxford University Press. pp. 103–105.
ISBN9780190460952.
^Skiffington, Toni. (1 February 1997). 'Derek came out to find success and become a role model'. Page 14 (full page). The Daily Post (
Rotorua, New Zealand)
^
abcdPower, Lisa (1995). No Bath But Plenty Of Bubbles: An Oral History Of The Gay Liberation Front 1970-7. Cassell. p. 340 pages.
ISBN978-0-304-33205-2.
^Abbitt, Diane (16 May 2018).
"Queery: John Jude Duran". Los Angeles Blade: LGBTQ News, Rights, Politics, Entertainment.
^Eaklor, Vicki L. (2004).
"Endean, Steve". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
^Kennedy, Joe, and Jack Nichols. "John Paul Hudson—Stonewall Era Author & Activist Dies at 73." Gay Today: A Global Site for Daily Gay News, gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/022502ev.htm.
^Rapp, Linda (2006).
"Jennings, William Dale". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
^Gianoulis, Tina (2006).
"Jones, Cleve". glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from
the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
^Brandman, Mariana.
"Audre Lorde". National Women's History Museum.
^Love, Courtney (28 October 1997). "1997 VH1 Fashion Awards". VH1 Fashion Awards. VH1. I think that great personal style is being true to yourself and speaking your mind, which, since I'm up here, I'm going to do. I feel that keeping gay people in the closet with our attitudes and action is cruel, and it's tacky, and most of all, it's boring. I think that we really need to respect each other and ourselves and respect who we are and what we are, and not be afraid to be what we are, whether we're gay, or straight, or insane [...] It's 1997 and respecting each other's sexuality is about the coolest thing I can think of.