Pauline Phillips

Best known by her pen name, Abigail VanBuren–and even better by the advice column Abigail VanBuren wrote, “Dear Abby”–Phillips, as VanBuren, was one of the first national figures to openly and vocally support LGBT people. Answering readers’ letters about gay issues and identity with empathy and understanding, her belief that gay was good and that people needed to live and let live would result in thousands of letters threatening her or preaching anti-gay rhetoric. In many newspapers, the legendary, long-running “Dear Abby” advice column was the first place the word “homosexual” or “gay” appeared in their pages. Often threatened with her column’s cancellation over such subject matter, “Dear Abby”‘s popularity–to many, it was the must-read column–insulated VanBuren’s column from punishment for her continuing support. With her column growing to become the world’s most widely-syndicated column, VanBuren’s sensitive handling of regular requests for advice or insight from people asking how to handle being gay or showing acceptance for a gay relative or friend, set an positive tone in a turbulent time. Phillips wrote the “Dear Abby” column from 1956 until the early 2000’s. (Her daughter took over writing duties at that time.) Phillips passed away in 2013.