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Model hopes to become first trans model of color for Victoria’s Secret runway

Leyna Bloom has called out the fashion line for its lack of diversity

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Leyna Bloom (Photo via Instagram)

Transgender model Leyna Bloom is campaigning to become the first transgender model of color to walk in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

Bloom took to Twitter to share that she’s ready to make history for the line.

“Trying to be the 1st Trans model of color walk a #VictoriaSecret Fashion show. #transisbeautiful #LeynaBloom,” Bloom captioned two photos of herself in a bikini. The tweet has received more than 30,000 retweets and more than 95,000 likes.

Since the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show kicked off in 1995 there hasn’t been a transgender model featured in the show.

In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, Bloom explained that becoming a Victoria’s Secret model would be monumental for her and the transgender community.

“It’s always been a dream for me, like so many others, not just trans — POC, all women, and some men even,” Bloom says. “This is a platform that glorifies femininity. I always felt in my most natural state I am heavenly. For my trans sisters, regardless of color, this will be a moment for us all.”

Bloom has also been critical of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show for its lack of racial diversity.

“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,” Bloom tweeted in November 2017.

Bloom has walked the runway for fashion label Chromat and was the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India.

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

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Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.

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PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride

LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.

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A scene from the 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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PHOTOS: Walk and 5K to End HIV

Whitman-Walker Health holds 40th annual event

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A scene from the 2026 Walk and 5K to End HIV on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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