AfterElton, the LOGO web magazine property, just posted the results of it's Hot 100 list. The list is composed almost exclusively of Hollywood stars who are gay or gay friendly. The composition of the list is determined through a balloting  process whereby readers of the website vote for their favorites.

This year the list contains very few people of color.

Over the years, gay people of color have become accustom to poor results in such polls taken by the broader gay community. However, a significant sign that things may be changing is that AfterElton took note, attempted to explain the results but finally acknowledges racism as a potential factor.

In the magazines's own words:

One disappointing aspect to this year’s list was a 50% drop in the men of color who made the Hot 100 — nine in all. Only three African-American men made the list and of them, only Darryl Stephens is gay. Additionally, no Asian men landed in the top 100 this year. What accounts for the drop? Men of color certainly didn’t become suddenly less sexy. Nor do we think our readers suddenly became less tolerant.

We suspect it’s a combination of factors. Even in 2008, Hollywood is still a shockingly white place. Given how many of those on our list are actors, and how many of those actors have played gay, it’s not then entirely surprising minorities are underrepresented. There simply aren’t as many actors of color who are either out or have played gay. And even when minority actors do play gay, since gay movies don’t get nearly as much attention as do “straight” ones, folks are less likely to have heard of them. Case in point is Maurice Jamal’s Dirty Laundry starring Rockmond Dunbar. Had the movie received a wider release and more attention last year, we suspect Dunbar would have made the list. That being said, the current U.S. presidential campaign has clearly demonstrated that racism (as well as sexism and homophobia) are hardly things of the past. No doubt some amount of racism is at play here as well.