A Biological Man Is on the Cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue

Leah Barkoukis | May 16, 2023 9:30 AM

Sports Illustrated made transgender pop singer “Kim” Petras one of the four cover models for its 2023 Swimsuit edition, prompting widespread criticism on social media.

Brooks Nader, Megan Fox, and 81-year-old Martha Stewart are also featured on the covers.

“It’s definitely a scary time to be transgender in America, but there’s also so much more representation than there’s ever been, and there’s so many things on the bright side,” Petras told SI in an interview. “I do feel a pressure sometimes to represent the trans community with everything I do, because I feel very blessed that I am at this point where I have all these amazing opportunities that I’ve worked really hard for, and feel so happy when I hear from trans people in general that they’re inspired by me.”

Petras said being transgender is just one part of his identity.

“I think what you do is the most important thing, not what your gender is, and all of that,” the singer continued. “I always try to remember that everything I do is definitely not about being transgender. It’s a part of me, but there are so many other parts of me. And I think that’s really important for me to show that to people. No matter what your gender or sexuality or any of that stuff is, it’s about what you make of life and it’s about what’s inside of you, so I hope that can be inspiring to people.”

I guess you didn’t take the hint from Bud Light that men are done with this 💩?

Like come on man 😂
— Audra Facinelli 🇺🇸 (@audraf637) May 15, 2023

It started w/ a desire to become a real-life Bratz Doll.
By the age of 12, he began puberty blockers. Next, cross-sex hormones. Finally, a bunch of reconstructive surgeries & cosmetic procedures.
This Sports Illustrated cover is a celebration of something very dark and very sad. pic.twitter.com/kFLTbFG8dI
— Scarlett Johnson (@scarlett4kids) May 15, 2023

If you’ve ever had an impossible dream, take hope: Sports Illustrated just put an 81-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man on the cover of their swimsuit issue.

Anything is possible in 🤡🌎. Reach for the stars. pic.twitter.com/yEC8IZQJkH
— Meg Brock (@MegEBrock) May 16, 2023

This is not the first time SI has put a biological man on its cover.

Transgender swimsuit model Leyna Bloom on historic Sports Illustrated cover: "We deserve this moment" https://t.co/guE7S5mY3C pic.twitter.com/t5P7l5BEg0
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2021