Playboy Mexico Features First Ever Trans Women On Cover
Image: Victoria Volkova
Victoria Volkova, a 27-year-old Mexican activist, has made history becoming the first trans-women to feature on the cover of Playboy Mexico.
Announcing the historic edition, Playboy Mexico said that the magazine “supports the battles for openness and diversity that are fought by so many across Mexico” adding that “Playboy Mexico, in line with its parent company in the United States, has always been in favour of all social struggles. We invite you to explore this edition that will undoubtedly become one of the favourites in your collection.”
Aside from a lifestyle and beauty influencer with over 1.2 million followers. Volkova is also a vocal advocatefor the rights of Mexico’s LGBTQI community – one which has seen more than 117 lesbian, gay, bi and trans people murdered in 2019 alone. In extension many transgender Mexican women seek asylum in the United States, simply because their gender identity or expression means they will face rape, torture, or murder if they return.
To this, Volkova said in an Instagram post, “I hope that with this cover people are more curious to meet each other, to know what it is like to be a trans person, how we live and what we have to go through to live a dignified life, to be respected, to earn a living, to be listened to, to survive in this society that does not pay attention to us or our struggles.
“This cover celebrates the different ways of being a woman, the different ways of being beautiful, the different ways of exploring your sensuality and enjoying your process.”
Playboy Magazine has for a long time supported and featured trans-women on their covers, with Caroline Cossey the first transgender woman to appear in the magazine in 1991 then in 2017 Ines Rau was the second. In 2018, the German edition featured trans model and activist Giuliana Farfalla.
Cooper Hefner, son of the late Hugh Hefner and CEO of Playboy, drove this home even further when on Wednesday he tweeted about the magazine, that society at large “should be fighting for a more open world, not one that promotes hatred and a lack of acceptance.
