Playboy is set to make history as the magazine's first transgender playmate, 26-year-old French model Ines Rau will appear in its November/December 2017 issue. Rau appeared in the magazine back in 2014, but this time she'll be the center of attention. The issue will also feature a special tribute to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who died a few weeks ago.
“Being a woman is just being a woman,” Rau told Playboy in an interview accompanying her photoshoot. She also admitted that she did not identify as transgender for quite some time, but now that she does, she feels at peace. “It’s a salvation to speak the truth about yourself, whether it’s your gender, sexuality, whatever,” Rau continued. “The people who reject you aren’t worth it. It’s not about being loved by others; it’s about loving yourself.”
While it took some time for her to come to terms with her true identity, Rau said she always knew that fame and success were in her future. “I always knew from within, when I was a little kid in my room in the ghetto, that a beautiful destiny was waiting for me,” Rau added. “I don’t know how to explain it. A little voice was telling me, ‘You’ll see. Patience.’”
“When I was doing this shoot, I was thinking of all those hard days in my childhood,” Rau continued. “And now everything happening gives me so much joy and happiness. I thought, ‘Am I really going to be a Playmate—me?’ It’s the most beautiful compliment I’ve ever received. It’s like getting a giant bouquet of roses.”
In addition to the Playboy spread, Rau also signed a book deal and is set to appear in a movie soon. She has even walked in many designer fashion shows, including Balmain. She has also appeared in Vogue Italia.
Though Rau is the first transgender Playboy playmate, she is not the first transgender model to appear in the magazine. In 1981, Caroline "Tula" Cossey posed for Playboy. She also had a role in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only that same year. Both of those appearances, however, occurred before Cossey came out publicly as transgender. She was outed without her consent in 1982. Conversely, she still appeared in Playboy again nearly a decade later in 1991.
Source: playboy.com
