Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition has put biological male Kim Petras in a two-piece swimsuit on its Swimsuit Edition magazine cover that was released Monday.
Petras is a singer and songwriter who identifies as transgender. The grammy award winner was among the “28 incredible women” which Sports Illustrated celebrated in its recent Swimsuit Edition of the magazine. (RELATED: Teacher Who Showed LGBT-Themed Disney Film In Classroom Accuses Concerned Parents Of Not Loving Their Children)
“While she’s proud that the trans community is inspired by her work, she uses her platform to encourage others to reach for the stars, regardless of gender or sexuality,” the magazine said.
See it here first: Kim Petras’ 2023 SI Swimsuit images. https://t.co/3zk17vEfut
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 15, 2023
Many have criticized SI for using a biological male on a magazine that traditionally uses female models.
“Why do you all hate women?” one said
“You guys gonna have Rachel Dozel next year to continue the trend of people, pretending to be things they’re not?” another commented.
“I’m old enough to remember when men thought @SI_Swimsuit models were hot…maybe because the cover models weren’t dudes with boobs,” one user wrote on Twitter along with photos of classic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition models.
Sports Illustrated featured plus-sized model Yumi Nu on the 2022 swimsuit edition. Clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan B. Peterson generated outrage when he commented that the model was “not beautiful,” and that, “no amount of authoritarian tolerance [was] going to change that.”
Martha Stewart became the oldest model featured in the swimsuit edition this year as well, at 81 years old. Supermodel Megan Fox also posed for the iconic magazine.