GLAAD’s Second Annual 20 Under 20

GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list honors young LGBTQ people, ages 20 and under, who are accelerating acceptance of LGBTQ people while shaping the future of media and activism. GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list is presented by Google, with Official Sponsors UGG® and Shutterfly.

Announced in June 2021, the second annual 20 Under 20 list features a diverse collection of young changemakers, including: Amiri Nash, Andrea Alejandra Gonzales, Andrew Adams, Ashton Mota, Austin Houck, Cyn Gómez, Darid Prom, Eli Bundy, Gia Parr, JoJo Siwa, Kaylyn Ahn, Max Prestigiacomo, Molly Pinta, mxmtoon, Onyx (E. Smith), Soleil Wheeler a.k.a. Ewok, Stella Keating, Trevor Wilkinson, Ve’ondre Mitchell, and Yasmin Finney.

The 20 Under 20 list was launched via Teen Vogue, featuring in-depth profiles about each honoree’s work, as well as individual portraits captured on the Google Pixel 5 by Mayan Toledano of Pixel’s Creator Labs. Check out the full 20 Under 20 list here.

Meet the 2021 20 Under 20 List Honorees

Amiri (he/him) is an artist, activist, writer, and a DC Youth Poet Laureate who co-founded Sign of Justice, a project that creates signs in predominantly white neighborhoods to raise awareness about racial injustice and other social issues.

Andrea (they/she) is a Mestiza queer activist and organizer, currently working as the Director of Operations for Youth Over Guns and an Instructor through New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Education Fund’s school program, ReACTION.

Andrew (he/him) is student and activist from Florida who successfully sued his school board for restricting him from using the men’s restroom because he is transgender, becoming the country’s first trial involving a transgender student’s equal access to restrooms.

Ashton (he/him) is a GenderCool Project Champion who is well known for being a public face for the “Yes on 3” movement in Massachusetts, which successfully upheld a law allowing people to use restrooms and public facilities that align with their gender identity.

Austin (he/him) is the founder of Homoglobin, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing queer equality in healthcare and education, which was instrumental in helping to pass HB 916 in Virginia in 2020.

Cyn (they/them/elle) is a LGBTQ and mental health activist who serves as a member of the Mental Health America’s Youth Leadership Council, an ambassador for the Tangible Movement, and a Commissioner on Homelessness for the City of Berkeley.

Darid (any pronouns) is a queer immigrant who has worked with GLSEN, GLAAD, and multiple nonprofits to promote the liberation of LGBTQ people of color, and has testified in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the impact of anti-LGBTQ bills on LGBTQ youth.

Eli (they/them) is a trans and non-binary student and activist who led their school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance in successfully striking down South Carolina’s “No Promo Homo” policy, the first time such state law has been abolished by a federal court on constitutional grounds.

Gia (she/her) is a GenderCool Project Champion who uses her platform to educate the public about trans youth. In addition to guest starring in season 2 of Pose, she recently released a book titled, A Kids Book About Being Transgender, which helps start conversations between children, parents, and familiies about what it’s like to be a young trans person.

JoJo (she/her) is a global popstar and one of the most influential teenagers in the world, with over 45 million social media followers across platforms. In early 2021, JoJo came out as a member of the LGBTQ community and continues to use her platform to promote necessary messages of LGBTQ acceptance and equality.

Kaylyn (she/they) is a queer student and activist who organizes monthly projects in their community centered on social justice, advocacy, and community service. Kaylyn spearheaded a “March for Asian Lives” demonstration in Arlington Heights, Illinois to call for an end to anti-Asian hate following the horrific Atlanta shooting in March 2021.

Max (he/him) is a student, community organizer, and politician who was elected to the Madison Common Council in April 2020, becoming the youngest elected official in the country and the youngest ever to sit on the Madison Common Council. He also became one of the first LGBTQ candidates ever elected in Madison.

Molly (she/her) is a bisexual student and activist who founded a nonprofit called The Pinta Pride Project to increase LGBTQ awareness within suburban communities in Illinois. She also launched her town’s first-ever Pride celebration in 2019 and served as the Youth Grand Marshal of the 2019 Chicago Pride Parade.

mxmtoon (she/her) is a bisexual artist, songwriter, actor, designer, and gamer with over 2.9 million social media followers. Well known for playing the ukulele and her unique bedroom pop anthems, including her hit single “prom dress,“ mxmtoon’s music has been streamed over 500 million times across platforms.

Onyx (they/them) is a Black, queer, non-binary activist who founded the Central Texas GSA Coalition to enhance the impact of GSAs in the Austin, Texas area. They also created a project called Q+ EDU, an interactive virtual experience designed to connect, inform, and empower LGBTQ and allied students, parents, and educators.

Ewok (he/him) is a professional Fortnite player who is part of the FaZe Clan, and recently signed an exclusive streaming deal with Twitch, where he has over 346,000 followers. On National Coming Out Day in 2020, Ewok publicly disclosed that he is transgender and bisexual, becoming the first transgender man in the T1 esports organization.

Stella (she/her) is a GenderCool Project Champion and aspiring politician who made history by becoming the first transgender teen to testify in front of the U.S. Senate when she spoke during a hearing on the Equality Act in March 2021.

Trevor (he/him) is an openly gay student from Texas who, after being suspended from his high school for wearing nail polish, successfully influenced his school administration to adopt a gender-neutral dress code policy following the launch of a petition signed by over 400,000 supporters.

Ve’ondre (she/her) is a Black and Latinx transgender social media star who uses her platform to amplify conversations about trans inclusion and representation to her more than 3.6 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. In 2021, she was nominated for the first-ever “TikTok Queer Advocate of the Year” award at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Yasmin (she/they) is a rising Black British trans actress who rose to prominence on TikTok with videos sharing her experience as a Black trans woman. She is set to star as the lead role in Orion Pictures’ coming-of-age film What If?, directed by Billy Porter, as well as in Netflix’s upcoming series Heartstopper.

20 Under 20 Honors

20 Under 20 honors are eligible to LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 20 years old who are working to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people and have been featured in broad regional or national media. The 20 Under 20 list celebrates the next generation of LGBTQ leaders in media advocacy, including journalists, actors, musicians, students, activists, and other young change agents.

In June 2020, GLAAD announced its inaugural class of 20 Under 20 Honorees, including: Aaron Philip, Alex Escaja, X González, Ezra Greyson Wheeler, Ian Alexander, Jamie Margolin, Jazz Jennings, Joshua Rush, Josie Totah, Kidd Kenn, Lachlan Watson, Leo Rocha, Logan Rozos, Map Pesqueira, Ose Arheghan, Sage Dolan-Sandrino, Sameer Jha, Sarah Rose Huckman, Shannon Li, and Zoey Luna. Check out profiles of the inaugural 20 Under 20 list here.

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GLAAD’s Second Annual 20 Under 20

Meet the 2021 20 Under 20 List Honorees

Amiri Nash, he/him, 19

Andrea Alejandra Gonzales, they/she, 20

Andrew Adams, he/him, 20

Ashton Mota, he/him, 16

Austin Houck, he/him, 20

Cyn Gómez, they/them/elle, 18

Darid Prom, any pronouns, 20

Eli Bundy, they/them, 17

Gia Parr, she/her, 17

JoJo Siwa, she/her, 18

Kaylyn Suji Ahn, she/they, 17

Max Prestigiacomo, he/him, 19

Molly Pinta, she/her, 15

mxmtoon, she/her, 20

Onyx (E. Smith), they/them, 19

Soleil Wheeler a.k.a Ewok, he/him, 15

Stella Keating, she/her, 16

Trevor Wilkinson, he/him, 18

Ve’ondre Mitchell, she/her, 17

Yasmin Finney, she/her, 17

20 Under 20 Honors

20 Under 20 Sponsors