The upcoming issue of ‘Playboy’ will feature a transgender model as the Playmate of the month – the first time this has ever occurred inside the pages of the men’s magazine.
It was revealed this week that Ines Rau had landed a spot in the magazine’s much-coveted centerfold, with the beauty of French-North African descent earning the title of November 2017 Playmate of the Month.
She is seen in the iconic bunny ears and a white angora sweater in one image and topless with lights wrapped around her bare breasts in another.
The 8-page spread, plus pullout centerfold, features a total of seven pictures of Rau.
And for the centerfold, Rau is photographed completely naked except for a pair of red velvet heels as she lies on the ground, thus covering up everything except for her read.
Beauty: Ines Rau is the Playmate of the month for November 2017, maiking the French model the first transgender woman to appear in the magazine’s centerfold (Rau above in the magazine)
Dar to bare: Rau, 26, bares her breasts in the 8-page spread and for the centerfold is completely naked except for a pair of red velvet heels as she lies on the ground
Journey: She began transitioning when she was 16 and had gender reassignment surgery soon after
Rau has previously walked the runway for the likes of Balmain and Hood by Air and recently shot a video for ‘Vogue’
This is not her first time in ‘Playboy’ however, with Rau previously appearing nude in a 2014 spread shot by Ryan McGinley that led to her pursuing a modeling career.
The 26-year-old has since walked the runway for the likes of Balmain and Hood by Air and recently shot a video for ‘Vogue.’
She began transitioning with hormonal treatments when she was 16 and had reassignment surgery shortly after that time.
Rau talked about her journey of self-discovery in the magazine as well, which features late founder Hugh Hefner on the cover this month.
Late founder Hugh Hefner covers the November / December issue (above)
‘When I was doing this shoot, I was thinking of all those hard days in my childhood,’ said the model.
‘And now everything happening gives me so much joy and happiness. I thought, Am I really going to be a Playmate—me?
‘It’s the most beautiful compliment I’ve ever received. It’s like getting a giant bouquet of roses.’
‘Being a woman doesn’t mean being extremely feminine all the time,’ said Rau at one point in the interview.
‘Being a woman is just being a woman.’
She later added: ‘I always knew from within, when I was a little kid in my room in the ghetto, that a beautiful destiny was waiting for me.
‘I don’t know how to explain it. A little voice was telling me, “You’ll see. Patience.”‘
She is now juggling a hectic career that has her travelling from Paris to Los Angeles with her modelling career taking off in recent years.
Rau also revealed her big plans for the future, having just finished shooting her first film and recently signing a book deal.
‘I love to be sexy, but sexy is an attitude. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say it, but I really feel sexy all the time!’ explained Rau.
She also talked about the causes she champions, which go beyond the ones that many might expect of a transgender woman.
‘I will always fight for LGBTQ rights and women’s rights, but above everything else, my cause is the environment,’ said Rau.
‘Nothing touches me more than fighting against global warming. I was made to fight for the planet—the forest, the animals, the air. If I get famous, that’s my first battle.’
Rau was the first transgender woman to ever appear in ‘Playboy’ back when she landed that first spread in 2014.