Arts & Entertainment
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
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.
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
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.
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
Bloom has walked the runway for fashion label Chromat and was the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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