10 LGBTQ trailblazers to watch out for in the future

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural list, Attitude 101 is back and once again we’re celebrating 100 LGBTQ trailblazers across 10 categories, and one person of the year. This time around we’re proud to be empowered by Bentley. 

The categories are Sport; Politics; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths; Media and Broadcast; Travel; Film TV and Music, supported by Taimi; Business, Financial and Legal; Third Sector and the Community; and Fashion, Art and Design supported by Klarna. Our Person of the Year is game-changing rapper Lil Nas X.

You can check out the full list and interviews with some of those included in the Attitude 101 issue – out now to download and to order globally. Check out the Future category, supported by Clifford Chance.

Woody Cook

In today’s cynical age of celebrity, it would be all too easy to dismiss Woody Cook as yet another famous offspring — but the son of Zoe Ball and Fatboy ‘Norman Cook’ Slim is anything but your standard ’sleb kid. The up-and-coming DJ has been vocal – particularly in his cover interview for the 101 issue of Attitude – being openly bisexual, smashing gender stereotypes, and the importance of mental health visibility.

Tate Smith – Programme Support Officer at Clifford Chance

As Clifford Chance’s first out transgender employee, Tate assisted with the drafting of the 2019 Trans Policy, advocating for top surgery to be covered under the firm’s medical insurance provider. He is dedicated to improving trans male visibility, educating others and debunking common myths surrounding trans people – whether via interviews with Legal Week, myGwork or Global Butterflies, or hosting ‘lunch and learns’ at Barclays, Unilever and The Telegraph about his private transition. He somehow finds the time to also study law part-time and volunteers at Gendered Intelligence as a Youth Worker.

Sophie Butler -Influencer

Sophie Butler was paralysed from the waist down after a gym incident in 2017 – but her experience has done nothing to dampen her passion for fitness. In fact, she went on to score ambassadorships with Gymshark, Myvegan and has featured in the likes of Women’s Health magazine. After using her sizeable social media following to empower and educate on subjects such as disability awareness, wellbeing, trolling and self-love, Sophie this year became the first wheelchair user to feature on the cover of Cosmopolitan UK, while also winning Cosmo’s ‘Influencer of the Year’ award.

Jojo Siwa – Social media star

She is only 18 (without sounding like Louis Walsh) but TikToker extraordinaire Jojo Siwa is one of the most influential people on the planet. Currently smashing it on Dancing with the Stars, the US version of Strictly Come Dancing, the American star — who has almost 40 million followers on TikTok and 11.1 million Instagram followers — made all the right moves when she came out publicly in January. A few months later, Jojo told People she “technically” identifies as pansexual, but also uses terms such as “gay” and “queer” to describe herself.

Chiyo – Drag king, model & sex worker

In 2020, Chiyo became the first trans finalist in the history of the traditionally white, cis male Mr Gay England contest. Consequently, this year, the pageant updated its rules to make it clear it is “open to anyone who identifies as male, using him and his pronouns and who collectively identifies as male”. (Chiyo goes by he/them pronouns.) In 2020, Chiyo told Attitude: “I am shaking things up. I am a trans man. I am also mixed-Black African. I am not on hormones and I have no intention of getting procedures done that may impact my WAP.”

L Devine – Singer-songwriter

Cheryl, Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix, and now Peer Pressure singer L Devine: what is it with Newcastle and its surrounding towns and sparky, spirited pop stars? Approaching a million monthly plays on Spotify at the time of writing, 24-year-old L Devine – real name Olivia Devine – hails from Whitley Bay and is “going to be a really big deal”, according to Charli XCX. This fast-rising singer-songwriter has already penned tracks for the likes of Icona Pop and Rudimental and has recently released her latest EP, Near Life Experience: Part 2.

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard – Content creator

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard has been sharing her experiences as a chronically ill and Disabled lesbian via fun, uplifting and educational content for YouTube (885,000 subscribers and counting) and other platforms since 2016. Her videos about her daily experiences as a deaf person living with genetic disorders Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure Palsies (HNPP) and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome often feature her wife, Claudia. An advocate for both the disability and LGBTQ+ communities, she was YouTube’s choice as the LGBTQ+ Creator on the Rise in 2020.

Ri – Digital creator & drag king artist

Ri is a queer, Blasian, non-binary digital creator and drag king artist from London, fighting for the much-needed representation of the Black/PoC trans, queer and non-binary community. The 24-year-old focuses on breaking down the societal binary restrictions while embracing authenticity and fluidity within identity. This year they have worked with FREEDA — shedding light on gender exploration and the ever-growing drag world beyond drag queens — as well as UK Black Pride, Mermaids, G(end)er Swap CIC, Lush and more. They’ve also created a line of gender-affirming products.

Ki Griffin – Actor

Ki joined the cast of Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks in 2020, becoming the long-running show’s first publicly intersex and non-binary actor. They made their on-screen debut in July 2020, before being offered a permanent role the following month. “Being able to represent not only the LGBT+ community but also people of colour has really given me faith that the industry is changing for the better,” Ki told The Sun at the time. By February 2021, the LGBTQIA+ activist confirmed their character, Ripley Lennox, was also non-binary, a storyline explored in subsequent episodes.

Justin Farrance – Legal Secondee at Facebook

In 2016, Justin Farrance was told that he’d have to hide his sexuality in order to stand a chance of becoming a corporate lawyer. At 25, as an openly out gay man working in corporate law, Justin founded a charity called GROW Mentoring to support diverse aspiring lawyers. In just over a year, the charity has supported over 2,500 students globally from the LGBTQ+ community and other underrepresented groups through one-to-one mentoring and events to promote accessibility in law and encourage students to see their diversity and background as a strength.

Check out the full, detailed list in the Attitude 101 issue, which is out now to download and to order globally. The Attitude 101 issue includes the FREE Attitude 2022 calendar, presented in association with Taimi.

Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £1 each, or digitally for just over £1.50 per issue.