PinkNews.co.uk’s top 50 Twitter users influencing LGBT life in 2011
Actors, comedians, equality activists and writers all feature in our list of the top 50 most influential LGBT Twitter users of 2011.
Earlier this month, we asked for your nominations for the voices which have the biggest impact on your LGBT life through the micro-blogging site.
We ran those nominations through the PeerIndex social media ranking system and the results are in.
PeerIndex measures how authoritative and interesting other people think a Twitter user is, as well as what topics and categories drive that interest, rather than focusing only on the number of followers each user has.
Below you will find the list of the top Tweeters with their ranking, username and PeerIndex score in brackets, followed by their profession or Twitter biography.
In line with our entry criteria, some commentators and figures may not be LGBT themselves, but their influential tweets about gay and trans issues mean they have made it into the top 50 people discussing LGBT life online.
Use the numbered pages below them to scroll through the top ten.
49= @guy_interruptd
Guy Interrupted (42)
Author, editor, tweeter. Allergic to normality.
49= @arieltroster
ArielTroster (42)
Putting the femme in feminist. Queer, activist, writer, editor, union worker.
41= @belliot2
Brian Elliot (43)
Accidental activist, tech entrepreneur, and professional gay. Trying my hardest to achieve equal rights, quickly.
41= @anyapalmer
Anya Palmer (43)
Barrister specialising in employment law. Feminist, cyclist, Londoner, ex Dubliner
41= @julietjacques
Juliet Jacques (43)
Trans/queer writer for Guardian, New Statesman, TimeOut & more. Also film, literature, arts, football. Orwell Prize longlist 2011.
41= @scottmcgoldrick
scott mcgoldrick (43)
My name is Scott McGoldrick. I’m young, reckless & chasing a dream.
41= @doctorchristian
Dr Christian (43)
British doctor and sexual health campaigner. Presenter of Channel 4’s Supersize Vs Superskinny & the BAFTA award winning Embarrassing Bodies
41= @dreahouston
Andrea Houston (43)
@Xtra_Canada journalist, communicator, writer, performer, activist, culture enthusiast, instigator, and all around classy broad. #CanQueer
41= @amateuradam
Adam Kay (43)
I write comedy stuff. Nincompoof. On loan to Twitter from @jamesgfarrell.
41= @chrisbryantmp
Chris Bryant (43)
Labour MP for the Rhondda
39= @behindbreakaway
Steven James Watson (44)
I’m Irish, I’m queer and I tweet a lot! I’m pretty ace. Follow.. You know you want to.. Engaged
39= @janetmock
Janet Mock (44)
Writer living transparently. @PeopleMag Staff Editor. Host of the Missing Piece Podcast w/ @AaronTredwell. Trans advocate.
38= @revnaomi
Rev. Naomi KingPausi (44)
Unitarian Universalist preacher, teacher, knitter, swimmer, reader, coffee drinker, lover of life!
34= @jethro_aryeh
Repeal_DADT_NOW (45)
A Super GAY Active Duty Captain; Seved in Kuwait/Iraq/Korea; LGBTQ Activist;Psychoherapist; Jewish-Blatino,Indian. GAGA Crazy.
34= @rozkaveney
Roz Kaveney (45)
Novelist, poet, critic activist, trans woman, Londoner, sentimentalist, radical
34= @auntysarah
Sarah Brown (45)
Poly, trans, lesbian, geek, Lib Dem, Cambridge City Councillor, herpetologist, fond of extreme sports. City Council tweets at @CllrSarahBrown
33 @pme200
Peter (46)
I’m not *really* a blond Steiff teddy, but I am quite fond of Lederhosen and Bier. Some time lawyer and Labour supporter
31= @grooming_guru
lee kynaston (47)
Journalist, Grooming Editor, Blogger, 80s obsessive, animal lover.
31= @benjamincohen
Benjamin Cohen (47)
Founder of PinkNews.co.uk and Technology Correspondent for Channel 4 News
29= @johnmcm1
John McManus (48)
Journalist – focusing on religion and world news – cyclist & swimmer.
29= @tara_hewitt
Tara Hewitt (48)
Work for the NHS advancing equality and reducing health inequalities.
26= @russelltovey
russell tovey (49)
Actor, of Him and Her and the History Boys
26= @natachakennedy
Natacha Kennedy (49)
ICT Educationist, Bolshie TransGirl, Phd student, Researcher
26= @lawandsexuality
lawandsexuality (49)
Reader in Law and Society at Sunderland University, UK. A Queer theorist drawn to the controversial.
23= @petertatchell
Peter Tatchell (50)
Peter Tatchell is a human rights campaigner and PinkNews.co.uk columnist.
23= @benpatrick90069
Ben Patrick Johnson (50)
Voice-over actor, typist, human rights bleeding heart. LGBT/Interfaith activist. EQCAi, GMCLA, NOH8 Board Member. Big, clumsy monkey.
23= @bouska
Adam Bouska (50)
Fashion Photographer & NOH8 Campaign Co-Founder
22 @patrickstrud
Patrick Strudwick (51)
Journalist. Columnist. Bigamist.
21 @ddemchuk
David Demchuk (52)
Making trouble is surprisingly hard work.
19= @blabbeando
Blabbeando (53)
Gay. Latino. Blogger. So there.
19= @christineburns
Christine Burns (53)
Equality and Diversity Specialist; Blogger; Podcaster; Campaigner – Not known for suffering fools gladly
18 @davidbadash
David Badash (54)
Editor, The New Civil Rights Movement. Engaged to @CalebEigsti. Father to @TextTheDog
17 @antonycotton
Antony Cotton (55)
Antony Cotton stars on UK soap Coronation Street
16 @pauleyp
Pauley Perrette (56)
Official Tweets of Actor Pauley Perrette NCIS-ABBY, Civil Rights Activist
15 @peachesnisker
peaches (59)
Musician
14 @davidallengreen
David Allen Green (61)
Legal correspondent, New Statesman. Also stuff on policy, media, and other things. Liberal and skeptic. Tweets in personal capacity.
13 @chazbono
Chaz Bono (64)
Author, Activist, Public Speaker.
12 @chriscolfer
Chris Colfer (69)
My life is an awkward visit from the kid’s table while awaiting a History Channel special.
11 @alancarr
Alan Carr (75)
Stand up comedian and TV presenter.
10 @karl_lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld (77)
Designer. 868,000 followers.
Karl Lagerfeld’s enigmatic and increasingly rare messages, often a month apart, have become legendary: “Luxury is the ease of a t-shirt in a very expensive dress.”
9 @georgemichael
George Michael (78)
Musician. 318,000 followers.
George Michael has had a difficult end to 2011, spending a month in an Austrian hospital with severe pneumonia, returning just days before Christmas.
His damning comments on the treatment of gay characters in British soap Eastenders was number 9 on our list of the strangest stories of 2011.
8 @georgetakei
George Takei (78)
Actor and gay rights advocate. 258,000 followers.
While Takei has a comparatively small number of followers, he makes up for it in authority. His humorous public service announcements, poking fun at anti-gay feeling among institutions and public figures have become famous. Read about Takei’s experience of being in one of California’s pre-Proposition 8 gay marriages in PinkNews.co.uk’s interview with him.
7 @derrenbrown
Derren Brown (81)
Illusionist, mentalist. 994,000 followers.
As Brown’s career relies heavily on his ability to influence minds, it is perhaps not surprising to find him in the top ten this year.
6 @ladygaga
Lady Gaga (83)
Musician and gay rights advocate. 17,400,000 followers.
A surprise sixth place for Lady Gaga, who has spoken out repeatedly in favour of gay rights and against teen bullying this year. She may have more than double the number of followers of anyone else in this list, but on Twitter, at least, the top five seem to wield more power.
5 @actuallynph
Neil Patrick Harris (86)
Actor. 2,300,000 followers.
(Photo: Kirstin Dos Santos)
Neil Patrick Harris, who currently stars on US sitcom How I Met Your Mother, came out in 2006 and became a father for the first time in 2010.
4 @ricky_martin
Ricky Martin (88)
Musician. 4,600,000 followers.
(Photo: Presidency of Argentina)
Ricky Martin ended years of speculation by coming out in 2009, was granted Spanish citizenship this year as rumours swirled that he would take advantage of the country’s equal marriage laws in 2012.
2= @theellenshow
Ellen DeGeneres (90)
Comedian, talk show host. 8,700,000 followers.
Degeneres’ The Ellen Degeneres Show receives around 2.75 million viewers per episode. Along with George Takei, who is number 8 on this list, Ellen married her partner after California’s same-sex marriage ban was overturned and before it was reinstated by Proposition 8.
2= @perezhilton
Perez Hilton (90)
Blogger and media personality.
(Photo: Paparazzo Presents)
Despite having half the number of followers of Ellen Degeneres, with 4,200,000, Perez Hilton matches her for online clout. Read our interview with Perez Hilton on the history of his site here.
1 @stephenfry
Stephen Fry (92)
Actor, writer, author, television presenter. 3,600,000 followers.
Stephen Fry is regarded as a Twitter pioneer, which may account for him being rated most influential, despite having fewer followers than the three people below him.
He told PinkNews.co.uk it was a “very remarkable honour” in his reaction to the news, which you can read here.
