The 2010 AfterEllen.Com Hot 100

Back in 2007, in response to Maxim‘s annual Hot List, we asked readers to create a list of their own favorite female hotties.

You happily obliged and nominated the women you thought deserved to be on the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List. We were so impressed with your selections that we’ve since made the Hot 100 an annual event. (Need a reminder? Feel free to take a look back at the 2009 Hot 100, the 2008 Hot 100 and the 2007 Hot 100.)

We also have a few supplementary lists for the Hot 100, in the hopes of giving a little extra exposure to those women who tend not to get as much coverage from the mainstream media: women of color, out lesbian/bi women and women over 40. You’ll find links to these lists at the end of this one, or you can go directly to them here: Out Women, Women of Color, Women Over 40.

Only one of the women in the top 10, Portia de Rossi, is out. Last year, five of the top 10 women were openly gay or bisexual. In 2007, it was two and, in 2008, it was three. Roughly one quarter of the women on the Hot 100 List this year are openly lesbian or bisexual (indicated by the * next to their names).

Although the majority of women on the list are from the U.S., nearly 40 percent of the women on the list hail from other countries, compared to about 25 percent last year.

One of the most interesting things about the list this year is that your number one pick also took the top spot on Maxim‘s list in 2009 and was just named the Sexiest Actress in the Bombshell Edition of Victoria’s Secret‘s What Is Sexy? 2010 list.

Are our tastes becoming more like those of the “mainstream,” or is the appeal of some women simply universal? We’re inclined to think the latter, as Maxim‘s top hottie in 2010 is Katy Perry, who didn’t even rank on the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 this year. It’s safe to say that the relationship of Maxim‘s readership to Perry is a little less… complex than that of AfterEllen.com, though singing about kissing a girl seems to have paid off for Perry quite nicely.

But back to our own Hot 100. The women you picked are listed in ascending order, according to your votes. We’ve provided photos and descriptions for the first 20 women, and after that, just names and photos. At the end, you can add your comments telling us what you think about the women who ended up on the list.

Here, the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List .

This post originally appeared on the blog After Ellen. Republished with permission.