MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow is one of the few folks keeping us sane in the wake of the election. As an out-lesbian commentator who’s often first on the scene at major political events, she’s been helping queer folks process a whole jumble of horrible news in recent months, and we couldn’t be more grateful. It takes a lot of strength to stand up for logic, reason, and gay rights in a news environment that gets more hellacious by the day, and for that, we salute her.
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Just absolutely evil treatment
Did we mention she’s also fine as hell? Because that’s also an important detail. And thanks to a newly-resurfaced photo of Maddow taken long before she hit the big time, sapphics are finding even more to appreciate about the woman who’s guided us through so many brain-breaking political crises.
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The image, shared by the fantastic IG account @Lesbian_Herstory, dates back to 1998, when legendary queer photographer Del LaGrace Volcano photographed a young Maddow in their London studio. The photo was also displayed in Volcano’s 2012 retrospective show at New York’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.
Obviously, sapphics are gleefully sounding off in appreciation. This photo is a timeless classic, a link between how queerness looked then, and how it looks now.
“UM WHAT OKAY RACHEL,” one commenter wrote. Couldn’t agree more. “Holy moly,” commented another. Honestly there aren’t enough wolf whistles in the world to sum up the gay excitement around this image. “A fishing fanatic from way back!” wrote another user, who noticed Maddow’s excellent rainbow trout shirt. If you know, you know. But if you don’t know, please enjoy going down the rabbit hole that is “Rachel Maddow fishing” photos. You won’t regret it.
Basically it’s never the wrong time to celebrate the heroes of this community—people who have been standing up and representing us even in the darkest political times, helping us remember that we’re not going anywhere, no matter how bad things get. And looking smoking hot while doing it.
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