The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''
The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
''. The list was started in 2000 to recognise individuals in public life who are openly gay, but has since grown to "
onourthose who have long and brave histories of standing up for equal rights".
History
Pink List
The list was first published in 2000 to recognise openly gay individuals in the public sphere, and initially listed 50 people.
, then editor of the paper, wrote in 2012 that she started the list at the time "to celebrate the huge contribution
hat gay peoplemake to every aspect of modern life".
Rainbow List
The list was renamed for the 2014 edition to be "more inclusive, less old-fashioned and far less like the 'girls' aisle in a toyshop".
The first edition as the Rainbow List was topped by
Labour Peer and former actor
Michael, Baron Cashman.
Criticism
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
criticised the list in 2010 for its portrayal of
Louie Spence
Louie Spence (born 6 April 1969) is an English dancing, dancer, choreographer and television presenter, best known for the TV show ''Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series), Pineapple Dance Studios''. He was a professional dancer in his youth, perfo ...
as a "gay stereotype", whose
15 minutes of fame was already running out.
Fry later stated that he had been told that the section in which Spence appeared, the "Rogue's Gallery", had been written separately by a journalist "without the deliberators' knowledge or consent."
The list has also been criticised as being unsystematic in its compilation. ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' columnist "The Guyliner" complained of the 2012 list that "
complicated formulae accompany any piece about the list to tell you how this influence is calculated", and that "it is nothing more than an inventory of names".
References
External links
*
Lists by year
{{Portal bar, LGBTQ, Journalism
Lists of British people
Publications established in 2000
2000 establishments in the United Kingdom
LGBTQ-related mass media in the United Kingdom