JANUARY 15
National
PlanetOut announces
'Person of the YeaK
Gay.com and PlanetOut.com
honor the public figure that has
done the most for the LGBT
community in 2004
by Trea Robinson
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — PlanetOut
Inc., a global online media company serv
ing the gay and lesbian market, unveiled
Dec. 15 the winner and runners-up of the
fourth annual PlanetOut Inc. “Person of the
Year” awards. The awards recognize the
people that most profoundly impacted the
lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans
gender (LGBT) people in 2004. Person of
the Year award nominees come from poli
tics, film, television, music, travel, busi
ness, fashion and sport.
“2004 has been a decisive year in gay
and lesbian history,” said PlanetOut News
Director Tom Musbach. “Something that
none of us thought we would see in our
lifetime unfolded before our eyes in the
form of a monumental stand for civil
rights in this country. San Francisco’s
same-sex wedding parade was a defining
event for our community this year, both in
America and abroad.”
Gavin Newsom, San Frandsco Mayor
According to PlanetOut Inc. editors, “By
allowing same-sex couples to get married in
San Francisco last February, Mayor Gavin
Newsom changed history, changed lives and
changed the national debate about marriage
equality. Fie is the obvious choice for Person
of the Year for 2004.”
The 36-year-old’s decision to let City
Hall issue marriage licenses to gay and les
bian couples sparked a month-long wed
ding parade,
with couples
flying in from
all over the
vyorld to wed.
The phenom
enon became
known to
many as the
“Winter of
Love” and
news media
broadcast
images from
City Hall of
hundreds of
loving cou
ples enjoying
Planet Out's 'Person of the
Yeor'; Gavin Newsom
a right that had always been denied them.
Newsom has said he was moved to act
after seeing President George W. Bush lend
support for a constitutional amendment to
protect the “sanctity of marriage” during
his State of the Union speech. The decision
made Newsom a lightning rod for criticism
to many people, including fellow Democratic
leaders, and a hero to many others.
In addition to choosing the “Person of
the Year,” PlanetOut has also named some
notable runners-up, including:
llene Chaiken, Executive Producer, "The L
Word": It may have taken executive pro
ducer llene Chaiken nearly three years to
convince Showtime that America was
ready for a TV series about lesbians, but
her persistence paid off. In yet another
groundbreaking move, Chaiken persuaded
Subaru to participate in an “L Word” sto
ryline — as a gay-friendly company that
steps up to the plate to sponsor Dana, an
openly gay female athlete.
Amelie Mauresmo, Athlete: The openly les
bian French tennis player (and Olympic sil
ver medalist) is currently the number-one
woman player in the world. After coming
out in 1999, Mauresmo has had to endure
comments about her athletic style not
being “feminine enough.”
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Philanthropist: in a
presidential campaign dominated by
Republican antipathy and Democratic
apathy, Teresa Heinz Kerry stood out as a
rare kind of hetero hero. While her hus
band largely shied away from one of his
most loyal voting blocs, rarely mentioning
his long record of LGBT support, Heinz
Kerry took on the role of unofficial ambas
sador. At- the Democratic National
Convention she invited gay delegates to
“call me Mama T.” The crowd burst into
chants of “Mama T,” “Mama T.” She got a
similarly enthusiastic response from gay
audiences across the country.
Peter Staley, Activist: AIDS activist Peter
Staley has some impressive credentials. As
one of the founders of ACT-UP New York,
he’s been involved in the fight against HIV
from the beginning. As the founder and
proprietor of AIDSmeds.com, he’s been
vital in dispensing information and tips on
HIV medications, statistics and coping
strategies worldwide. But it’s been his work
this year against the crystal meth epidemic
in the gay community that really drew the
attention of PlanetOut’s editors. Using his
own money, Staley launched a campaign
with the provocative headline, “Huge Sale,
Buy Crystal, Get HIV Free!” in New York
this summer that drew the world’s atten
tion to the problem and served to shock
some gay men out of their complacency.
To access a slideshow highlighting
PlanetOut Inc.’s Person of the Year and to
view a complete list of runners-up, visit'
www.planetout.com/news/newsom/ or
www.gay.com/news/newsom.
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