A Desire To Put Life Experience On Paper
Tracy E. Gilchrist
In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the editor in chief for The Advocate at Pride Media Inc. and an experienced writer, podcaster, public speaker, moderator and broadcast interviewer. Aside from over 15 years of experience as an editor, Tracy describes herself as “a cyclist, a cat lady, and a lover of show tunes and Freeform TV.”
What are you best known for?
It depends on who you ask. To some, I am the foremost Carol fetishist. I’m known to some as a movie buff or a cinephile who especially adores French and Italian cinema from the ‘50s and ‘60s. To others, they’ll tell you they think of me when they hear musical throwbacks to Natalie Merchant, Erasure, or Yaz (when I love something, I have a tendency to really love it). To others, I am a cyclist, a cat lady, and a lover of show tunes and Freeform TV. My love of teen TV with women-loving-women characters can be traced to the fact that I had nothing that resembled something I wanted for my life growing up. The closest thing I had to something that looked like what I wanted was Laverne and Shirley and The Facts of Life. I would say that I’m an expert in LGBTQ+ TV and cinema.
Professionally, I am known for launching SheWired in 2008 and becoming its editor in chief until it shut down in 2016. Following that, I became The Advocate’s first-ever feminism editor. Now, I’m the editor in chief of the Advocate. I’d like to be known for amplifying LGBTQ+ artists and allies and for thoughtful and funny interviews. I’d also like to be known for being a panel moderator who goes deeper than most.
I’m also known for my participation in AIDS Lifecycle for seven years where I’ve raised more than $35,000 and helped to erase stigma around HIV and AIDS.
What is the first thing you ever wrote?
It was 1998, my friend who had just become the editor of Metroline magazine, the local gay mag in Hartford, Connecticut, asked if wanted to write movie reviews. At that point, I hadn’t even finished college (I was too sidetracked doing theater in my late teens/early 20s to get my applications out). I wasn’t sure how good I’d be at writing, but I gave it a shot. My first movie review was the lesbian film Better Than Chocolate. From there, I began to profile people in the community and soon graduated to interviewing artists.
What are you working on now that nobody knows about?
I have been turning over ideas for a memoir in my head for ages, but the desire to put my life experience to paper has amplified during lockdown. I’m also working on a series of lectures on film and TV that I hope to deliver at colleges throughout the country once things open up. I already have one lecture, From Pandora’s Box to Pose, that I’ve given a couple of times.
I have loads of interviews teed up from Leslie Jordan to Jennifer Hudson. There are a few I can’t discuss yet, but I am continuing my work helping artists tell their stories.
