French model Ines Rau is now officially the first transgender Playmate in the history of Playboy magazine. Donning a white lingerie set, the 26-year-old model is making history and will be featured in the November/December 2017 issue of the 64-year-old publication.
Speaking to Playboy, the model addressed the issue of transgender visibility and why it is important for transgenders to be featured in mainstream media. She said, “I lived a long time without saying I was transgender.” She added, “I dated a lot and almost forgot. I was scared of never finding a boyfriend and being seen as weird.”
It was only later that she realised that one should always be true to themselves. “It’s a salvation to speak the truth about yourself, whether it’s your gender, sexuality, whatever. The people who reject you aren’t worth it. It’s not about being loved by others; it’s about loving yourself,” she said.
“Being a woman doesn’t mean being extremely feminine all the time. Being a woman is just being a woman.”
Playboy tweeted about their first transgender Playmate on Thursday:
“Being a woman is just being a woman.” Meet November 2017 Playmate Ines Rau, the first transgender Playmate. https://t.co/w28vfilSP9 pic.twitter.com/iVAqOgB0TK
— Playboy (@Playboy) October 18, 2017
A Playmate is a title earned by a model when they are featured in the centre-fold pictorial of the magazine. Rau had once before been featured in the magazine in the year 2014, however, not as a Playmate, which is also true for other trans models who have previously appeared in Playboy.
Playboy’s step is a huge victory for the trans community as more often than not, models who don’t conform to the gender binary are shunned in the industry, with alternative modelling being their only hope to have a career in show-business. We only hope Rau’s major breakthrough helps pave the way for other trans models to be gain visibility in the industry.
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