It’s been a confusing time for stalwart men’s magazine Playboy in recent years, coupled with the death of its founder Hugh Hefner in late September.
After a significant relaunch in February last year the magazine’s publishers declared it would no longer feature its famous nude centrefolds. However, that turned out to be publishing suicide and a year later the boobs were reinstated.
And in its latest ploy to tell the world the ageing title is new, millennial and bloody well modern, comes the November/December edition featuring the magazine’s first-ever transgender Playmate, 26-year-old Ines Rau. However, she doesn’t bag the cover, that honour going to its recently departed founding father.
In fact, Rau has been in Playboy before, however, only was as a model. However, this time she wears the coveted Playmate tag (whatever that actually means.)
Rau is a model who has appeared in Vogue Italia and featured in a fashion campaign for label Balman and in her accompanying interview tells Playboy she is a strident campaigner for LGBTQ rights.
“I’m an advocate for anyone who is scared to be who they really are because they fear being judged or rejected,” she said. You can read the interview in full here.
“I lived a long time without saying I was transgender,” she said. “I dated a lot and almost forgot. I was scared of never finding a boyfriend and being seen as weird. Then I was like, You know, you should just be who you are. It’s a salvation to speak the truth about yourself, whether it’s your gender, sexuality, whatever. The people who reject you aren’t worth it. It’s not about being loved by others; it’s about loving yourself.”
