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Playboy welcomes first transgender Playmate as cover girl
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Playboy magazine before the revamp. (Shutterstock/emka74)
I
n his first bold move as the new creative officer of the Playboy empire, Cooper, son of the late Hugh Hefner, confirmed that the famed men’s magazine will feature a transgender model for its November/December issue.
For the first time in the company’s 64-year history, Playboy has chosen 26-year-old French model Ines Rau to grace its cover.
A post shared by INES RAU (@supa_ines) on
Fulfilling his promise of opening new horizons for Playboy, Cooper said Rau’s selection “very much speaks to the brand’s philosophy.”
“It’s the right thing to do. We’re at a moment where gender roles are evolving,” the 26-yer-old heir told the New York Post. “This is really a moment for us to take a step back and say that so much of what the brand stood for in the early years is very much still alive in culture.”
Hefner added that Rau’s selection was a no-brainer, because “she’s lovely” and “has a remarkable personality,” and could help resolidify the magazine’s voice.
Read also: Iconic Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dies at 91
Rau, meanwhile, expressed her delight upon being given the distinction.
“It was a compliment like I’ve never had,” she was quoted as saying by the news outlet. “I’ve had a lot of beautiful compliments from gentlemen before, but this one really made me feel very special, beautiful and feminine. I was speechless.”
Prior to working with Playboy, Rau appeared in Vogue, Italian Vogue and a Balmain fashion campaign.
After the announcement was made public, the 26-year-old model addressed mixed reactions from people online.
“I’ve seen a lot of hateful comments,” Rau said. “I would have never thought about people being so transphobic. I knew we still had a lot of work to do to get to a point where people see trans women as women, but I would have never thought of that.”
This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
