LGBT History Month: Janet Mock and Malcolm Forbes

Each year, along with the help of Equality Forum and LGBTHistoryMonth.com, Hotspots celebrates LGBT History Month by honoring members of the community who are advancing our rights, fighting for visibility, and who help move us forward towards a life where everyone feels free to live life as who they really are.

This week, we honor transgender author and journalist Janet Mock, who has worked to advance the rights of the transgender community. We also honor Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes Magazine, one of the most powerful businessmen of his generation, who still felt it necessary to live in the closet.

Janet Mock
Born: March 10, 1983

Janet Mock is a New York Times best-selling author, television host and transgender advocate. She hosts a weekly online series on MSNBC.com called "So POPular" and is the founder of #GirlsLikeUs, a social media project created to empower transgender women around the world. She came out publicly as transgender in 2011 and was featured in Marie Claire magazine.

One of five children born to an African-American father and a native Hawaiian mother, Mock spent much of her childhood in Honolulu before moving to California and Texas. She began her gender transition in high school. During her freshman year in college, she traveled to Thailand for gender reassignment surgery. The first person in her family to go to college, Mock attended the University of Hawaii and New York University, where she earned a master's degree in journalism. She began her career as a staff editor for People.com.

Mock has been a contributing editor for Marie Claire and a special correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight." She has contributed to The Washington Post, National Public Radio, Salon and Slate.

In 2014 Mock's book, "Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More," became a best seller; it traces her life growing up as a boy and transitioning into a woman. She also has written about her experience for The Huffington Post, Elle and The Advocate.
Mock has used her experience as a transgender black woman to help advocate for the LGBT community, women's issues and multicultural awareness. She serves on the board of the Arcus Foundation, which is dedicated to LGBT and environmental advocacy.

Mock was featured in the HBO documentary "The Out List" and in the documentary "Dressed" and has appeared on television shows such as "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "The Colbert Report." In 2015 Oprah Winfrey invited her as a guest on "SuperSoul Sunday."

Among other recognition, Out Magazine named Mock to its list of Out 100 and TIME named her one of the 12 new faces of black leadership and one of the most influential people online. She has also earned awards from Planned Parenthood, the Feminist Press and others.

Mock lives in New York City with her husband, the photographer and filmmaker Aaron Tredwell.

Malcolm Forbes
August 19, 1919- February 24, 1990

Malcolm Forbes was an American businessman and publisher of Forbes, a magazine founded by his father in 1917.

The son of a Scottish-born journalist and an American mother, Forbes was born in Brooklyn and grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from Princeton as a political science major, Forbes enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served in Europe as a machine gunner in the 84th Infantry Division. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant before he was wounded in combat. He received both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his heroism.

Forbes served as a borough councilman and later as a state senator in New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for New Jersey governor in 1957. It was publishing, not politics, however, that would eventually cement his fame and fortune.

Forbes acquired control of the family business in 1964, cultivating Forbes magazine into one of the most successful print publications in the world, covering real estate, finance and business. The magazine, which is published in print and online, is still owned and operated by his family.

During the 1980s, Forbes became known for his lavish lifestyle and celebrity-studded parties. He regularly discussed his holdings, which included private jets, yachts, an international art collection and homes around the world. Actress Elizabeth Taylor co-hosted his legendary 70th birthday party in Morocco, for which the rich and famous were flown in on private jets. Forbes also gave millions of dollars to charity. His worth was estimated between $400 million and $1 billion.

In addition to life as a publishing mogul, Forbes became the first person to fly coast to coast in a hot air balloon; he also flew over Beijing, setting a world record.

It was only after his death in 1990 that he was outed in a story called "The Secret Gay Life of Malcolm Forbes," written by Michelangelo Signorile. In the controversial expos� Signorile asked, "Is our society so overwhelmingly repressive that even individuals as all-powerful as the late Malcolm Forbes feel they absolutely cannot come out of the closet?" The Forbes family has always denied the allegations.

Forbes was married for 39 years and had five children.