Skip to main content

Playboy’s first transgender ‘playmate’ hopes to ‘pave way for all women’

LONDON: Men’s magazine Playboy has featured its first ever transgender ‘playmate’ centerfold in its November issue, a move which the model hopes will pave the way for “all women – trans or otherwise – in fashion and other sectors”.
Ines Rau, a French fashion model who was featured nude in a 2014 issue of Playboy and has previously worked with Balmain and Vogue Italia, is the first transgender model to appear as a centerfold in the magazine’s 64-year history.“Every woman’s beauty deserves to be celebrated,” Rau, 26, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her first interview to the media about the feature.
“No one deserves to be a woman more than those [trans women] who routinely suffer abuse and are treated like they’re less than nothing.”
The Playboy feature comes as transgender models are becoming increasingly visible in fashion brands and media. In March the French edition of Vogue featured a transgender model for the first time on its cover, as did Marie Claire Spain in 2016.
In August French cosmetics giant L’Oreal hired is first transgender model, Munroe Bergdorf, to front an advertising campaign celebrating diversity. It sacked her days later after she described all white people as racist on Facebook.
Rau said Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, an outspoken supporter of civil rights, had personally chosen her to be the magazine’s first transgender playmate before he died at the age of 91 in September, and “told me he was very proud of me”.
“The messages of encouragement I’ve received from people have been amazing, although I’m still told by some that I’m ugly and should never be allowed in Playboy,” she said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Rights groups celebrated the feature as a positive step bringing LGBT rights into the spotlight.
“Trans women are women. That is not up for debate, by media commentators or anyone else. We applaud Ines for continuing to speak out on the rights of trans people everywhere,” said a spokesman for LGBT charity Stonewall.
The decision to feature Rau sparked debate on social media, with one man commenting on the magazine’s Facebook page that “this was the last straw, sorry but I like my women real, not 500 surgeries later”.
“There will always be trolls,” said Rau. “But if I can help others to love themselves then it’s worth it.”
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India recall pacemen Umesh and Shami for Australia ODIs

MUMBAI:  India have recalled fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav for the first three one-day internationals against Australia while they continue to rest their frontline spinners. Yadav and Shami were part of the test squad which blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 but were rested from the subsequent five-match ODI series, which the tourists also swept.Fast bowler Shardul Thakur, who played two matches in the series and took a single wicket, was dropped from the 16-man squad for the series against Australia. The hosts will, however, continue to be without off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm tweaker Ravindra Jadeja for the first three of five matches against Steve Smith’s side. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will be India’s spinners as the Virat Kohli-led side continues to build toward the 50-over World Cup in 2019 in England and Wales. “The team for the three ODIs against Australia has been selected in line with the rotation policy of the Board and ac...
Post a Comment
Read more

United frustrate Liverpool in disappointing derby

LIVERPOOL:  A cautious Manchester United frustrated hosts Liverpool as a lacklustre North-West Premier League derby ended 0-0 on Saturday with neither side able to find the creative touch. The draw leaves United alone at the top of the table on 20 points although Manchester City, who are now a point behind, can regain first place when they host Stoke City later on Saturday.Those hoping for a classic blood-and-thunder clash of the two most successful clubs in English football were probably being overly optimistic but few would have predicted such an uninspiring 90 minutes at Anfield. United manager Jose Mourinho’s team selection suggested that, as last season, he would adopt a cautious approach to taking on Juergen Klopp’s side. Instead of Spanish craftsman Juan Mata on the right, the more defensively diligent Ashley Young started in the role and Marcus Rashford, carrying a slight knock from England duty, was left on the bench. With United’s Romelu Lukaku left alone – an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Naya Shakti flays govt decision to award Budhi Gandaki Project to Chinese company

Baburam Bhattarai-led Naya Shakti Nepal has said that the decision of Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government to award the contract to construct Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project to China’s Gezhouba Group Corporation was against the nation’s interest. Issuing a statement on Thursday, the party criticised the government arguing that the decision to hand over the contract to construct 1200 MW project to the Chinese company was condemnable. Bhattarai, who is also a former Prime Minister, said that the government awarded the project to the Chinese company like a blank cheque. The party has also demanded that the government immediately scrap the agreement signed with the Chinese company. The government on June 4 had signed a contract agreement of the project with the Chinese company. Energy Minister Janardan Sharma and a representative from the Chinese company had signed the agreement paper for the construction of 1200MW project. A Cabinet meeting on May 23 had approved the Energy Mi...
Post a Comment
Read more