List of LGBTQ Armenians
This is a list of LGBT Armenians, which includes Armenians, who are part of the LGBT disambiguation and have either stated publicly or been outed as homosexual, transgender, lesbian, bisexual or queer. Those of partial Armenian descent are also included.
Activists
- Mamikon Hovsepyan – former executive director of Pink Armenia and Armenia liaison for GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society[1]
- Lilit Martirosyan – co-founder of Right Side NGO, transgender[2]
Art
Actors
- Chaz Bono – American writer, musician and actor, transgender
- Alexandra Hedison – American actress, lesbian
- Narbe Vartan – actor, transgender
Comedians
- James Adomian – American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist, gay[3]
Dancers
- Bob Avian – choreographer, theatrical producer and director, gay[4]
- Arthur Gourounlian – Armenian-born professional dancer and television personality, gay
Drag
Fashion
- Ray Aghayan – American fashion designer and costume designer for the United States film industry, gay
Filmmakers
- Sergei Parajanov – Soviet movie director, bisexual[5]
Musicians
- Eve Beglarian – contemporary American composer, performer and audio producer of Armenian descent, lesbian[6]
- Armen Ra – Iranian-Armenian artist, self-taught thereminist, gay[7]
Sculptors
Businesspeople
- Francis Kurkdjian – perfumer, gay
Chefs
Politics
- Pap of Armenia – King of Armenia from 370 to 374[9]
- Ike Hajinazarian – Regional Communications Director at the White House in 2021, gay[10][11]
- Jeff Marootian – Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy from 2022-2025, gay[12][13]
- Jirair Ratevosian – former acting chief of staff to the United States Global AIDS Coordinator from 2022 to 2023, gay[14]
Pornography
- Adam Ramzi – American porn star, gay
Religion
- Grigoris I (Grigor Aghtamartsi) – Catholicos of Aghtamar[15]
- Sarmad Kashani – Armenian sufi mystic[16]
Sports
- Mel Daluzyan – weightlifter, transgender
Writers
Literary and creative
- Nancy Agabian – American writer, bisexual[17]
- Christopher Atamian – literary critic, writer, translator, art curator and filmmaker, gay[18]
- Yeghishe Charents – Armenian poet, writer and public activist, bisexual[19]
- Armen Davoudian – poet, gay[20]
- George Stambolian – key figure in the early gay literary movement, gay[21]
- Vahan Tekeyan – poet[22][23]
- Hrag Vartanian – writer, art critic, and curator, gay[24]
Journalism
- Lillian Avedian – Assistant Editor for The Armenian Weekly, lesbian[25]
- Vic Gerami – journalist, gay[26]
- Karèn Shainyan – Russian journalist, LGBT activist, and YouTuber, gay[27]
See also
References
- ^ "GALAS Celebrated 20th Anniversary and Awarded Mamikon Hovsepyan". 8 June 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "About Us". Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (June 10, 2021). "Comedian James Adomian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ "Tony award-winning Broadway choreographer Bob Avian dies aged 83". the Guardian. January 22, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ "Parajanov embraced by LGBTQI community in Georgia". chaikhana. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (November 17, 2020). "Book of Days by Eve Beglarian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ Sam Hockley-Smith (March 23, 2020). "The Ethereal Beauty Of The Century-Old Theremin, Embodied". NPR. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ Christopher Atamian. "Michael Aram Wolohojian". Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "P'awstos Buzand's History of the Armenians. Notable Iranian military personnel come to Armenia and are defeated. Childhood of the future king Pap (367-ca. 374), his homosexuality. Folklore of snakes, serpents, shoulders. The Armenian lords (naxarars) begin to abandon king Arshak. Arshak is summoned to Iran by Shapur, and he is forced to go. Armenian History, Byzantine History, Byzantium, Iranian History, Arsacids". www.attalus.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ "Jeff Marootian and Ike Hajinazarian Named to Biden Administration Staff". MassisPost. January 16, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "LGBTQ Appointments in the Biden - Harris Administration". Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Jeff Marootian and Ike Hajinazarian Named to Biden Administration Staff". MassisPost. January 16, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "LGBTQ Appointments in the Biden - Harris Administration". Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ Tim Murphy (May 13, 2024). "HIV as the Common Denominator". POZ. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ Christopher Atamian (February 7, 2018). "Reaching Out to All Armenians: 'Equality Armenia' and the Fight for LGBTQ Rights". HyeTert. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ Mugloo, Saqib (2023-07-10). "Rediscovering India's lost queer icons: a tour of Old Delhi's secret history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (September 6, 2020). "Me as Her Again by Nancy Agabian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (September 28, 2020). "A Poet in Washington Heights by Christopher Atamian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ Boghossian, J. P. Der (2020-10-02). "Yeghishe Charents: Poet of the Revolution". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ Mark William Norby (April 9, 2024). "Armen Davoudian's 'The Palace of Forty Pillars' – gay Iranian poet's collection emits new light". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (September 13, 2020). "In My Father's Car by George Stambolian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (August 31, 2020). "Vahan Tekeyan – Your Name". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ Becky Z. Dernbach (December 4, 2020). "As a teen, he didn't know any queer Armenians. He later found them in books — and started his own library". Sahan Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ J.P. Der Boghossian (November 17, 2020). "Hyperallergic founded by Veken Gueyikian and Hrag Vartanian". The Queer Armenian Library. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ Lillian Avedian (June 21, 2023). "My Armenianness is queer". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ "Armenian-American LGBTQ community finds catharsis in The Promise". Los Angeles Blade. May 20, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ Nemtsova, Anna (May 23, 2020). "Karèn Shainyan Wants to Inspire LGBTQ Russians to Come Out—With Some Celebrity Help". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 14, 2025 – via www.thedailybeast.com.