
Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue features first transgender model
July 11 (UPI) -- On Friday Valentina Sampaio became the first transgender woman to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. The 23-year-old Brazilian model became the first openly transgender model for Victoria's Secret and in 2017 was featured on the cover of French Vogue, becoming the first transgender woman featured on the cover of a Vogue edition. Advertisement In a personal essay on the magazine's website, Sampaio, who grew up in a fishing village in northern Brazil, wrote that she was grateful for the opportunity "my intention is to honor that as best I can." "Being trans usually means facing closed doors to peoples' hearts and minds," Sampaio wrote. "We face snickers, insults, fearful reactions and physical violations just for existing. Our options for growing up in a ...