Camille Anna Paglia is an American social critic, author and teacher. Her book, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson, published in 1990, became a bestseller. She is a professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been variously called the "feminist that other feminists love to hate," a "post-feminist feminist," one of the world's top 100 intellectuals by the UK's Prospect Magazine, and by her own description "a feminist bisexual egomaniac."

Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam. Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle. Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek). Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.

Jacky Todd Oldham is an American fashion designer originally from Corpus Christi, Texas. He hosted a segment called "Todd Time" on MTV's House of Style in the 1990s. He produced a clothing line associated with the Warner Brothers Batman Forever. Oldham designs furniture and home accessories for the La-Z-Boy Furniture company and was named creative director for Old Navy effective Oct. 1, 2007. Oldham is openly gay. He is a member of the board of advocates for Bailey House, the nation's oldest supportive housing program for persons with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Oldham supports the animal rights movement and has worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Oldham was the host of Top Design on Bravo for the 2007 season.

Touko Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, is often said to be the most famous Finnish artist in the world. His highly stylized homoerotic drawings had a profound influence on late twentieth century gay culture, as well as fashion and pop culture in general. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade. Over the course of four decades he produced some 3500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits, with tight or partially removed clothing. Despite having created the self-assured and muscular archetype of the homosexual in his imagery, his most important messages were tolerance and that sex is something to be celebrated. Tom of Finland's artwork is part of permanent collections of leading cultural institutions that include The Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Helsinki), The Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.