Leyna Bloom is the first trans cover star for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue

Model dedicated historic cover to ‘all ballroom femme queens’

Leyna Bloom reacts to her Sports Illustrated cover during the 2021 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Reveal at Jack Studios on 13 July 2021 in New York City (Getty Images for Sports Illustra)

Leyna Bloom has become the first ever transgender model to be featured as the cover star of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

The model graces one of three separate covers, with the other two featuring rapper Megan Thee Stallion and tennis star Naomi Osaka. As a black and Filipino woman, Bloom is also the first ever trans woman of colour to feature in the magazine.

She wrote on Instagram of the appearance: “This moment heals a lot of pain in the world. We deserve this moment’ we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder.

“I am so happy, honoured and humbled to share that I’m the first trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated!

“I have dreams a million beautiful dreams, but for girls like me, most dreams are just fanciful hopes in a world that often erases and omits our history and even existence,” she continued.

“This moment is so powerful because it allows me to live forever even after my physical form is gone. Not a lot of people get to live in the future, so at this moment, I’m proudly choosing to live forever.”

Bloom dedicated the cover to “all ballroom femme queens”, as she was part of New York’s ballroom culture – an underground LGBTQ+ subculture founded by young African-American and Latin Americans.

She wrote: “This historical moment is important to #girlslikeus because it allows us to live and be seen. Many girls like us don’t have the chance to live our dreams, or to live long at all.”

Thee Stallion also made history as the first rapper to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She told CNN it was “a dream” for her to be on the magazine, adding: “I am just happy they chose the Hot Girl Coach!”

In her interview with the magazine, Osaka spoke of her pride in becoming the “first Japanese and Haitian woman to grace one of the covers”.

“I feel like that multi-cultural background is present in all of the things that I do. I try to incorporate it in everything, so hopefully you see that,” she said.