She is one of the most iconic figures in the history of the transgender movement. She is also one of my biggest inspirations.
Caroline Cossey is a British model who often worked under the name Tula, which she also used for two memoirs. She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as transgender by the British tabloid News of the World. In 1991, she became the first trans woman to pose for Playboy.
Since then she has become one of the biggest advocates of the transgender cause. In 2017 I had the honour of interviewing her for my blog and one of my questions was related to how she was treated by society.
To this day I still have triggers that are very upsetting and I suppose I will for as long as I live. I think it’s important to remember we all have this strength inside us. We endure scars but they tell the story of our triumphs, not just the story of our travails."
And on her modelling career: "As trans women we all have insecurities. The modeling industry is a purely visual industry and a highly competitive one at that, so being able to achieve the success that I did was tremendously reassuring and gratifying. I worked across the entire spectrum as a model in nude pinup, calendar, fashion, swimwear, hair, and beauty ads. That in itself was even more gratifying because I wasn’t hiding anything under clothes. It was the biggest compliment to be paid to have pictures taken of me."
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