Like it or not, history was made this week.
Leyna Bloom, a transgender model and actress who was born a biological male but transitioned to a female later in life, was the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. The highly anticipated yearly edition of the magazine was released on Monday.
Bloom shared a post with her Instagram followers saying, “This moment heals a lot of pain in the world. We deserve this moment; we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder.”
SI swimsuit edition editor MJ Day said, “Leyna is legendary in the world of activism, strikingly gorgeous, and has an undeniable sense of self that shines through the minute she walks on set. Her story represents one grounded in resilience, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to help her tell it. Her presence as the first trans woman of color to be in our issue is a result of her lifetime dedication to forging her own path.”
In a recent interview Bloom hailed the victory, while also saying this is just the beginning.
“We just honestly have to keep moving…This is not my first time making history, and this is probably not going to be my last. I want to just go out in the world and not limit myself. The world is changing and people need to see the fact that, wow, this is the beginning of it. This is what it looks like, and it’s so beautiful.”
The move by Sports Illustrated has expectedly drawn the ire of readers and SI Swimsuit Edition fans, who see this as just another instance of a company abandoning their readership and choosing to go the woke route in order to appease a small portion of the population.
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