A spotlight on some of our favorite LGBTQIA+ people you should definitely be following

In a world that seems to be full of so much hate and discrimination, these humans are doing their part to make the world a little bit less awful. They’re doing everything from writing beauty articles inclusive to all genders to creating legislation to expand and protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and other marginalized groups.

It’s time we devote our time to people who are doing some good in the world, and the people below definitely fall into that category.

Sam Escobar

Sam Escobar is the Deputy Editor for Allure, and can take a ton of credit for some of the major strides the magazine is making towards inclusivity. Escobar is nonbinary, and is known for their funny, glam and socially conscious Twitter page which is flooded with tweets dedicated to standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights — oh, and selfies so perfect they’ll make you want to drop everything and moisturize. Sam’s stellar non-gendered beauty reviews are creating a vital space for inclusivity in the world of glamor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU6_8vnA4Zx/?taken-by=theonewithbluehair

Kate McKinnon

Kate is most famous for her roles as Kellyanne Conway and Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live, and to say these roles have started important political conversation would be an understatement. McKinnon is the first ever open lesbian cast member to star on SNL. She’s also a badass women in comedy, proving that contrary to popular belief women can be funny. Most recently, McKinnon starred in Rough Night which has been called the female equivalent of The Hangover. McKinnon often challenges traditional roles by playing males in some of her sketches.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVdnBrPl1nS/?tagged=katemckinnon&hl=en

Megan Smith

Megan is the former Chief Technology Officer of the United States, serving under President Obama. Before that she was the vice president of Google. Casual, no big deal. She worked to advise the President on the best ways to use technology and data to help the public. One of Megan’s main priorities is creating visibility for women and minorities in the technical realm. Megan is a co-founder of The Malala Fund, which is dedicated to ensuring 12 years of education for every girl.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVQciycADM6/?taken-by=techjobstour

Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin is a Wisconsin senator — in fact, she’s the first ever female senator to be elected in Wisconsin and the first openly gay person elected to the Senate. Baldwin’s platform reflects her constant pursuit for equality, especially considering one of her main focuses is addressing the student debt crisis. Baldwin is known for her willingness to step across party lines to get things done, and has been a strong advocate against TrumpCare. Recently, Baldwin introduced a bill that would protect LGBTQIA+ Americans from housing discrimination.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ0ii8yjSWR/?taken-by=senatorbaldwin&hl=en

Janet Mock

Janet Mock is the writer of Redefining Realness, a memoir about her experience growing up as a trans girl. On June 13, Mock released her second memoir, Surpassing Certainty, which is about her 20s. She gave a moving speech at the Women’s March on Washingon. Mock contributes to Allure, and writes beautiful pieces about everything from how haircuts can be used to restrict gender presentation to the importance of mermaids in the transgender community. As if her resume wasn’t impressive enough, Mock is also the producer of the HBO documentary, The Trans List and she hosts the podcast, Never Before.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU-oQPjhdHo/?taken-by=janetmock&hl=en

Ingrid Nilsen

Ingrid became famous when she started her YouTube channel in 2012. Since then, she has gained over four million subscribers thanks to her galmour yet real videos on fashion and beauty– she was even a judge on Project Runway: Threads. Most notably, she interviewed President Obama during a livestream where she probed him for answers to questions about LGBTQIA+ rights. About a year ago, Nilsen started a podcast, Ladies Who Lunch, with fellow YouTube star Cat Valdes. They dive deep into sex and life’s dilemmas in a funny way as refreshing as…well, lunch with your ladies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUz2j-9De71/?taken-by=ingridnilsen&hl=en

HartBeat

Hart is a YouTuber and comedian who hilariously addresses important issues about sexuality and mental health in a digestible and real format. Hart has almost 450,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In her most famous video, she talks sexuality while eating a watermelon. Same.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSXgTWUFjwJ/?taken-by=ihartbeat&hl=en

Jill Soloway

Jill is a comedian and writer who identifies as nonbinary. Soloway has received endless recognition for their writing and directing on projects such as Afternoon Delight and award-winning Amazon series Transparent. Soloway’s most recent project is called I Love Dick, and according to the Guardian, “it’s soaked in feminist rage” (count me in). The show follows the lead character as she comes to terms with the complications of sexuality.  Soloway is also co-founder of the dope website Wifey, which is a platform dedicated to curating video content for forward-thinking people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBIZkNHKFHi/?taken-by=jillsoloway&hl=en

Jazz Jennings

At only 6 years old, Jennings began her transition. She is one of the youngest openly transgender children in the public spotlight. Jennings is now 16 and has her own reality TV show and a recently-published a memoir. Jazz is a huge advocate for trans and an inspiration to many LGBTQIA+ children, many of whom are told they’re “just going through a phase.” She’s gorgeous, and her bubbly personality makes her impossible not to like. Jennings even remained poised while she sat face to face with her oppressors at a community forum.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNPna6fhUMe/?taken-by=jazzjennings_&hl=en

Caitlin Stasey

Stasey is best known for her role as Rachel Kinski in the Australian TV show Neighbours. Stasey identifies as pansexual and is the creator of herself.com. The website does naked photoshoots and interviews with women of all shapes and colors promoting sex positivity and body image. Stasey is a huge supporter of the Free the Nipple campaign, and is in a constant battle with Instagram for their censorship of her nude photographs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQgBkj3h-hL/?taken-by=caitlinjstasey69

There are so many people in the LGBTQIA+ community that are worth celebrating, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

@TheTab