These trans models just made history on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar
These trans models just made history on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar
Legendary fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar has been published for over a century — but two trans women models just helped it progress more than ever before.
Geena Rocero and Tracey Africa are the first trans women to be featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
The models are part of the “Nine Wonders of the World” photo series for Harper’s Bazaar India — landing individual covers along with other models like Tyra Banks and Soo Joo Park.
Here is the gorgeous Geena Rocero.
A photo posted by geenarocero (@geenarocero) on Sep 19, 2016 at 2:36pm PDT
And the gorgeous Tracey Africa, also known as Tracey Norman.
A photo posted by Tracey Africa (@therealtraceyafrica) on Sep 19, 2016 at 3:09pm PDT
You may recognize Tracey from Laverne Cox’s recent tribute in Cosmo. Tracey was the face of Clairol and on the cover of high fashion magazines in the 1970s, until she was outed as a trans woman and faced brutal discrimination.
It’s important to remember that trans women have landed on fashion magazine covers for years (The New Yorker mentions the gorgeous April Ashley and Caroline Cossey) — but they had to keep their identities secret in order to achieve success. Tracey is a perfect example of what happened to a woman’s modeling career if her transgender identity became public.
A photo posted by Tracey Africa (@therealtraceyafrica) on Sep 10, 2016 at 10:04am PDT
Geena Rocero told Mic:
“The women who paved the road for me, like Cossey and [Tracey]— when they came out during their time, they paid a price for that… For me, when I moved to NYC, they were both my sense of inspiration and sense of fear. They represented what was possible for me, but I was afraid that what happened to them might happen to me.”
A photo posted by geenarocero (@geenarocero) on Sep 19, 2016 at 4:31pm PDT
As reported by Mic, the entire “Nine Wonders of the World” project began because art director and executive producer Christopher Sollinger wanted to work with Tracey, and celebrate a legendary woman who had been forced to hide herself.
A photo posted by Tracey Africa (@therealtraceyafrica) on Aug 18, 2016 at 4:51pm PDT
Rocero spoke about the importance of the visibility provided by Harper’s Bazaar, telling Mic:
“For the longest time, when you don’t see yourself reflected on media or any mainstream representation, there’s a sense of erasure in that… [Growing up] I never saw trans models being celebrated for their beauty, for their achievement, for their identity.”
But Rocero also noted the need for pop culture visibility to translate to actual improvements in the lives of trans people:
“I’ve always had this understanding… Changing policy and changing culture have to be two things that are interchangeable … I want more policy change, more systemic change in everyday life of trans people.”
Hopefully, normalization and inclusion of trans people in the public eye will help enact desperately needed social change. As Rocero said, “We’ve been here for so long; we’ve always been around and here we are.”
Congratulations to these two flawless trans women for this historic achievement!
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