Transgender Models to Know

by Christine Kinori

In the past, it was hard to talk about being transgender, let alone becoming a transgender model. Previously, being trans was termed as a curse and the people who declared such were marginalized and discriminated. It was not a fancy affair — no, it was one that was full of tears and shame, but some of that has changed as more models are coming out. It’s awesome to see them being allowed to showcase their clothes or perfumes by the fashion industry. This is giving the LGBTQ+ community an opportunity to achieve their dreams and ambitions. In fact, one of them appeared in one of the best-selling magazines in America and we will be talking about her in this blog. But first let begin from where it all started:

April Ashley

April was born on April 29th 1935, and she was recognized as a transgender by the Sunday People newspaper. This how she transitioned in gender: She had shared a boarding house with a ship steward at the age of 25 and saved 3000 Euros because she wanted a sex reassignment surgery. She endured significant pain but the surgery was successful, and she later on returned to Britain where changed her name and became a successful model appearing in publications like Vogue. After her friend sold out and revealed her secret, she became a center of attention as a trans woman and her film credits were instantly dropped. Despite this, she was not afraid to show the world who she was and that opened up opportunities for more people to come out and tell their stories as transgender people. She gave people and other models the courage to show who they were at a time when it was really risky. Even though she also lost her modelling career; she was not ashamed of her sexual orientation.

Hunter Schafer

Hunter was born December 31, 1999, and she really rose in the fashion and film industries. She is also a LGBTQ+ rights activist, and she mentioned that the Internet helped her cope with her gender identity when she turned to YouTube and Twitter to learn about other people’s transitional timeline. The beautiful and lively blonde has appeared on many runways as well as the series drama Euphoria, where she has received great praise. She has been a LGBTQ+ crusader and we thank her for it!

Valentina Sampaio

Valentina was born on January 10, 1993 in Aquiraz, Ceará, which is in Northeastern Brazil. At 8 years old, psychologists identified her as transgender, but she did not start calling herself Valentina until she was 12 years old. At first, she was bullied for her gender identity. In school, she initially studied architecture but she dropped the major to study fashion. It was there that a makeup artist saw her and signed her to a modelling agency. In 2017, she openly announced that she was a transgender model to be on a cover of Vogue Paris. She did not have a fair share of recognition, because in 2014, a clothing company fired for her modelling job because he had identified herself as a transgender. She was featured in Vogue, which helped instill courage in other transgender people to appreciate and accept themselves — but more so love themselves even more. She was also Victoria Secret’s very first transgender model.

Nathan Westling

Nathan is a male transgender model who was born in June 1, 1996. He has ascended to upper ranks after debuting on Marc Jacob’s runway in 2013, and has established himself as one of the best in fashion before taking a sabbatical to take care of his health. He spent 6 months to change his identity. He later shared that modelling provided him an opportunity to express himself and to show the world that being a transgender is not bad after all, this where equal opportunities are needed. He plans to move to New York and continue modelling with his identity as transgender included.

Andreja Pejić

Andreja is a Bosnian-Australian model. Though she started out modeling masculine clothing before later on announcing that she was transgender, she hoped that one could be successful in their new chapter without having to alienate their past. She came out strongly defending the LGBTQ+ community and personally sharing how they should be able to love and care for each other. She was the first transgender model to be profiled by Vogue. She hopes that many more will be to reveal their identity after hearing her story.

About the Author:

Christine Siamanta Kinori grew up in a little village in Kenya known as Loitoktok near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. All she wanted to do when she grew up was to explore the world. Her curiosity led her to join Nairobi University to pursue a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She later got a job with an amazing travel magazine Nomad Africa which gave her the opportunity to explore Africa. She also writes for numerous travel websites about Africa and tries to create a new narrative in the media about our aesthetic continent.

Christine claims to have somewhat unhealthy addiction to TV and reading, as it is a fun way to keep herself occupied during the long journeys for her travel writing. She is also a believer of letting people be their beautiful selves. To her, love is love and it is the greatest gift we have as humans.