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The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue showed off its very first transgender cover star, Leyna Bloom.
The model follows in the footsteps of model Valentina Sampaio, who was the first trans model to appear in the pages of the magazine last July. Bloom, who is black and Filipino, is also the first trans woman of color to appear in the magazine.
Writing on Instagram, Bloom said the appearance “heals a lot of pain.” She wrote: “We deserve this moment; we’ve waited millions of years to appear as survivors and be seen as full-fledged humans filled with wonder.
Bloom, who was part of the New York ball scene, wrote: “This historic moment is important to #girlslikeus because it allows us to live and be seen.”
She added, “A lot of girls like us don’t have the chance to live our dreams, or live long. I hope my blanket will make those who struggle to be seen feel valued.
Mere Abrams, co-founder of Urbody, the non-binary underwear company, said she hopes this will open doors for members of the trans community.
“I hope this kind of moment will inspire other mainstream fashion brands to start paying attention to their responsibility for trans liberation and gender freedom,” Abrams said. “My long term goal is for gender inclusion to exist from top to bottom and left to right in organizations, but I think at the beginning we will see many first steps and one-off attempts that seem more superficial. “
Abrams said the cover is more than just a visual statement.
“[The] The cover represents an important statement of trans inclusion at a time when legislation and political movements seek to exclude transgender girls and women from cultural spaces that celebrate femininity, ”they said.
Bloom joins rapper Megan Thee Stallion and tennis player Naomi Osaka, who appear on three different covers of the Swimsuit Issue, on the theme “Open Your Eyes, Tell the Truth and Change Minds”.
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