Reasons for Pride in 2012, Part 2

Because even Fox can’t keep us down

She may or may not have been ousted from The X Factor because the crowd-pleasing grind she sang, “Ooh Damn,” was about another woman (gasp!), but lesbian singer Reina Williams’s (pictured) performance got Simon Cowell to say, “A million times yes. She made my year.” But TV’s queerphobia aside, the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival vet and Baltimore native has got it going on with a new straight-to-the people album, Reina Williams: The Mixtape, and a tour last spring to meet her growing fan base. “I get pride from seeing people from all walks of life who are affected in a positive way by my music,” she says. “I feel humbled by everyone’s acceptance of me and my music as is. I don’t need to wear skinny jeans, buy a gold mouth grill, or dress, as my mother would say, like a hoochie mama to get noticed and move units.”