Just when you think you’ve seen it all.
An openly transgender and African American model is lobbying Victoria’s Secret to let her walk in the next Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in a campaign started on Monday.
Leyna Bloom is a transgender model and has been featured in high profile spreads like Vogue India. But she’s zeroed in on a new target and is now actively pursuing a shot at walking for the lingerie company as its first transgender person of color.
“Trying to be the 1st Trans model of color walk a #VictoriaSecret Fashion show,” Bloom posted on Twitter on Monday.
Trying to be the 1st Trans model of color walk a #VictoriaSecret Fashion show. #transisbeautiful #LeynaBloom pic.twitter.com/xkLW5W9YqO
— Leyna Bloom (@leynabloom) April 9, 2018
The tweet has since received 17,000 retweets and close to 60,000 likes.
This isn’t Bloom’s first shot at the company. In November 2017, the model called out Victoria’s Secret for being too homogenous.
“All these women of color in the VS fashion show that’s amazing right,” she wrote. “But they still have way more white girls. It’s like every time they added a woman of color they added another white girl. Next year they need to cast trans and curve models all colors not just Caucasians.”
All these women of color in the VS fashion show that’s amazing right. But they still have way more white girls. It’s like every time they added a woman of color they added another white girl. Next year they need to cast trans and curve models all colors not just Caucasians.
— Leyna Bloom (@leynabloom) November 21, 2017
Let me be the first to say that this is exactly what Victoria’s Secret does not need to do. Using curvy – a politically correct way of saying overweight – models to sell lingerie is singlehandedly one of the worst business decisions a company can make. Sports Illustrated starting doing it to freshen up their swimsuit edition and received a ton of backlash for pushing such an outwardly biased agenda. And if Victoria’s Secret falls victim to the same mentality, well it’s going to be game over for fashion show ratings.
It’s pretty sad that people like Leyna Bloom are resorting to online intimidation in order to gain acceptance. Putting pressure on companies to be more inclusive – and calling them racist, sexist, transpohbic, or a whole laundry list of other woke buzzwords when it doesn’t comply is not brave. Hiding behind your racial and gender identity, then complaining when a meritocracy doesn’t favor you isn’t revolutionary. It’s hypocritical and unrealistic.
Follow Jena on Twitter.
