Sports Illustrated To (Allegedly) Feature Its First Ever Male Model In This Year's Swimsuit Edition
(skip to 13:59 for the Sports Illustrated part)
Listen, I have some major opinions on this, but before I share them with you, some backstory....
Sports Illustrated could feature its first male model in its upcoming 2021 swimsuit issue. Of the diverse lineup of finalists, Lewis Freese is the only man who has made it a a finalist in the publication's annual model search.
During his submission video, the 21-year-old said he recalls being "obsessed" with SI models such as Kate Upton and Ashley Graham because they inspired him to be confident in who he was.
"But as a man and as a teenager, I felt so embarrassed and ashamed of that because I was told for so long I had to look up to men and I had to aspire to be something that a man would be and not a woman," said Freese.
The Video:
There's a lot to break down so I'll start here- good for Lewis Freese. He clearly wants this and the fact that he's gotten this far really say something about him at a person. It also, for better or worse, says something about Sports Illustrated, who I personally happen to think is pandering for all the wrong reasons. Here were my initial thoughts on the story…
Don't get me wrong, I'm for representation in all aspects of life, but for a magazine that focuses exclusively on the female body to include a male seem disingenuous. It seems self-serving, it seems strange, and for lack of a better word it seems weird. We spoke about the entire thing at length on this week's Out & About which you can check out here.
We also talked to MTV's Aneesa about 'The Challenge' and her hatred of Clem among other things…
Shout out to Tea With Publyssity for coming on and yucking it up. If you're not already subscribed you can do so HERE
Happy Friday, friends.