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Introducing Playboy’s first transgender Playmate Ines Rau

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Ines Rau. (Screengrab: Instagram/@supa_ines)
Ines Rau. (Screengrab: Instagram/@supa_ines)

Cape Town – Playboy magazine announced their November 2017 Playmate.

Meet Ines Rau, a 26-year-old French model of North African descent who also happens to be Playboy's first-ever openly transgender Playmate.

SEE INES RAU’S CENTREFOLD HERE:

While transgender models have posed for Playboy in the past, none of them were official Playmates – a title reserved for the centrefold models.

Based in New York, Ines has appeared in Vogue Italia, starred in a Balmain campaign and is often seen dominating fashion runways.

Ines has also posed for Playboy before. She took part in a nude feature titled Evolution – which set out to “survey humanity’s halting shift toward acceptance of gender identities beyond the male-female binary” - in 2014, and reveals the feature was a way for her to celebrate “coming out.”

Along with her stunning spread - photographed by Derek Kettela - Ines opened up to Playboy about her life journey as well as aspirations for the future.

“I lived a long time without saying I was transgender...

“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.”

Of her Playmate title Ines said: “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.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE.

The November/December issue will also pay tribute to its creator, Hugh Hefner – who died on Wednesday, 27 September.

The collectors edition will put emphasis on Hef’s advocacy for change in all avenues, including the LGBTQ community.

READ THE FULL TRIBUTE HERE.

Upon releasing their November issue, Playboy highlighted public reactions to their historic Playmate unveiling and likened it to the reaction of their March 1965 Playmate, who happened to be the first ever black Playmate, Jenny Jackson.

While there are negative comments, the positive comments are what stand out with the magazine “standing on the right side of history.”

SCROLL THROUGH REACTIONS SHARED BY PLAYBOY HERE:

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