The 2009 AfterElton Hot 100: Out Gay Men

Nearly 200. That’s how many different out gay guys received votes in our Out Gay Men poll, (part of our AfterElton.com Hot 100 list). And most of them are names you’d recognize if you spend much time here on AfterElton.com or pretty much anywhere else in the gay blogosphere. Some of those who didn’t make this list but easily could have, include film director Q. Allan Brocka, Broadway performer Paolo Szot, TV writer Bryan Fuller, and recent The Real World housemate J. D. Ordonez just to name a few.

Going back just ten years, it’s hard to believe there would have been so many out gay men to choose from. But taking into consideration that five states have now legalized gay marriage, a handful more have civil unions, along with all of the other strides we’ve taken forward in the forty years since Stonewall, and it’s not exactly surprising that gay visibility has risen across the board.

We have numerous out politicians ranging from stalwart Congressman Barney Frank to newcomer Rep. Jared Polis; out athletes including retired NBA player John Amaechi, retired NFL player Esera Tuaolo and still competing Olympic gold medalist Matthew Mitcham; Oscar winning screenplay writers (Dustin Lance Black), Tony winning actors (David Hyde Pierce) and so many more.

It’s 2009 and it’s a great time to be gay!

Now here are the Out Gay Men you named as the ten hottest. (Please don’t give away individual rankings in the subject lines of your comments; to see the results of the main Hot 100 poll, click here!)

1. Neil Patrick Harris

Face it. This is Neil Patrick Harris’ world. We just live in it. As if it isn’t enough for Neil to top the overall Hot 100 list, he had to snag the top spot here as well. If Barney Stinson we’re here, we know exactly what he’d say: “Aw-w-w-e-some!” 

2. John Barrowman

We’re tempted to say poor Mr. Barrowman is doomed to always be a bridesmaid and never a bride except he’s already married to architect Scott Gill. It shouldn’t be that big a surprise that John finished behind Neil on this list as well as the Hot 100, but personally we blame the BBC. Had Torchwood not had such a long break between seasons – fourteen months – we’re pretty confident the man who brought us Captain Jack might not have come in second here. Or on the Hot 100 list itself. 

3. Luke MacFarlane

Hmm, we’re starting to detect a theme here. You folks really like these three gay men a lot, don’t you? Or perhaps you simply like to show how cosmopolitan you are by picking a Yank, a Scot and a Canadian again and again.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, we also suspect that, as with John Barrowman and the BBC, Luke might have had a shot at the top spot if ABC’s Brother & Sisters had featured him a bit more prominently. Things were so promising last fall when his character Scotty Wandell married Kevin Walker, but ever since then it’s been a case of diminishing returns.

Might we suggest Luke trying bribing the ABC writers to get a bit more facetime? That just might be what he needs to push him over the top next year.