Best LGBTQ+ Account in Social Media - Shorty Awards

10th Annual Shorty Awards Categories

See below for official categories.

Influencers

Honoring the most notable and viral Influencers from 2017. See below for official categories.

Brands & Organizations

The Shorty Awards honor the talented agencies, brands, and industry leaders behind the best and most innovative work on social media channels, campaigns, websites and applications.

Best LGBTQ+ Account

The LGBTQ+ internet community is strong, as millions have gone online to seek support and advice from those who share to share their own stories and experiences. This list of nominees have been very active with their advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and serving as inspiring and encouraging figures to those struggling.

Winner

The YouTube star Miles McKenna came out early 2017 as transgender. Nearly 2M people have watched his “SO I’M TRANS*” coming out video—and that’s not the only big announcement Miles made this year. He also launched his web series Hella Gay on Fullscreen and co-headlined the cross-country “Love Is Love” tour with fellow YouTube stars Shannon Bever...

Finalists

LGBTQ+

2017 was a hard year for the LGBTQ+ community, especially for those who are from immigrant families. But people like Alok Vaid-Menon support and encourage honesty and openness in the face of fear and resentment. Alok, an Indian American “performance artist, writer, educator, and entertainer,” is also gender non-conforming, which can make some pe...

LGBTQ+

The first transgender man to make the cover of Men’s Health, Aydian Dowling is obviously a pioneer. Starting in 2009, he began documenting his full transition from female to male, from the first testosterone shot to surgery and beyond. In 2017, he and his wife Jenilee took the next step, creating the web series Our Journey To Pregnancy to share ...

LGBTQ+

Lateef Thynative

Lateef Thynative is an up-and-coming YouTube fashion and LGBTQ+ personality. He brings his experience as a gay person of color to the world of vlogging, giving voice to a community that is not nearly as well-represented on YouTube as it should be. His unique perspective on topics like “James Charles Racist Tweets” and “Masculinity and Femininity...

LGBTQ+

Stephanie Frosch

Stephanie Frosch had a remarkable 2017, revealing “THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUTUBE'S LGBT RESTRICTION.” She discovered that all LGBTQ+ channels were inaccessible on the site’s “safe mode” for children. Of course, she, like many activists on social media, know that kids often have the least support and need the online community most. Her 375K+ subscriber...

LGBTQ+

Many people were introduced to the plastic-faced Trixie Mattel on season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, where she happened to meet fellow contestant Katya. The two have been on a roll together ever since. Their bright, bawdy, candid, and candy-colored web series UNHhhh got picked up by VICELAND in 2017, becoming The Trixie & Katya Show, while they als...

Nominees

LGBTQ+

Amy Ordman is the “Aussie living in LA” who constantly wonders why she’s still single. Her 320K+ YouTube subscribers can’t understand it, since they love the awkward, frenetic vlogs that take them inside Amy’s mind. While she knows her adorably nervous energy comes across in everything she does (she even sells “I Feel Awkward” t-shirts), she doesn’t let t...

LGBTQ+

The child of Instagram star Jesse Sullivan, who believes her “daughter will change the world,” Arlo Sullivan’s stunning photos show her gender-fluid life in all its beauty. Starting in February 2017, @thearlobear grew an audience of over 30K Instagram followers before posting even 50 times. Arlo doesn’t try to set an example with her social feed—she’s jus...

LGBTQ+

Gay rights have come a long way in the past few years, but there is still an epidemic of bullying and loneliness for members of the LGBTQ+ community, no matter how successful. Ethan Hethcote, the vlogger, media guru, and partner of fellow YouTube personality MarkE Miller, knows this as well as anyone. In March, he put his feelings into words in a powerful...

LGBTQ+

Touted by Out magazine as “one of the preeminent queer activists of his generation,” Raymond Braun uses the internet to better the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. Coming from a small town in Ohio, Raymond now has a network of support that spans the world and has made him a believer in the power of social media to “accelerate acceptance.” But there are alwa...

LGBTQ+

You may recognize Trace Lysette from her role as Shea on Amazon’s Transparent. The transgender actress has been part of groundbreaking storylines on the show that help to bring transgender relationships—and their struggles—into the light of day. But her true courage showed when she came forward about the harassment she faced from co-star Jeffrey Tambor. H...

LGBTQ+

Vinny Vaillancourt had a surprising 2017, receiving his YouTube plaque for surpassing 100K subscribers early in the year, but then going through a divorce from his husband (and collaborator) Luke. His tears may have been flowing, but after a few months of being single at 28 he admitted, “I think it’s changed me for the better.” Vinny’s 110K+ subscribers a...

About the Shorty Awards

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media.

Millions of people participate in The Shortys to recognize individuals and organizations producing great content on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, YouNow, Musical.ly, and the rest of the social web.

The 10th annual shorty awards powered by directv now were held april 15th, 2018