Cosmopolitan UK Features The First Non-Female Model On Their Cover In 35 Years
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When it comes to magazines like Cosmo, we’re expecting to get some saucy tips, celebrity news and takes on latest fashion trends. Oh, and a smiling woman dressed in some vibrant, fashion-forward garments. But as many things these days, the mold is breaking and history is taking a different turn. For this month’s issue, Cosmopolitan UK decided to go for a different approach in their image. Jonathan Van Ness is this month’s cover model and we can see why.
Van Ness is perhaps best known as the grooming expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, a show that features 5 experts in their own categories transform people to make their lives easier and happier.
This month’s Cosmo UK cover is making history with Jonathan Van Ness
Image credits: Cosmopolitan UK
Image credits: jvn
Rocking a pair of Nikes and a pastel Christian Siriano ruffled gown, Van Ness radiates glam and con-fi-donce. In the magazine’s 35-year run, he is the first non-female model to pose for the cover of Cosmopolitan UK. Just this summer Jonathan came out as a non-binary person with preferred gender pronouns he/him/his.
Image credits: Cosmopolitan UK
Image credits: CosmopolitanUK
The issue is set to be released on Thursday the 5th, however the online article has just dropped, revealing juicy details about the television personality.
Image credits: Cosmopolitan UK
Image credits: jvn
Image credits: jvn
In an interview with Amy Grier, Jonathan Van Ness discusses life, the stigma surrounding living with HIV, politics and more. He explains the latest drama surrounding the US presidential elections, how difficult it can be to balance people’s expectations, especially in the current climate where people might struggle to differentiate between his TV/online persona and his role as an LGBTQ+ activist.
Image credits: jvn
Image credits: jvn
Van Ness also talks about his book, a memoir titled Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love. In it, he tries to reiterate how he is a complex person with multiple sides to his personality. “When I’m having a bad day, everything feels rushed. I feel like I’m letting people down, biting off more than I can chew,” he tells Amy Grier. The book also touches upon his experiences of sexual compulsivity, substance abuse, and living with HIV for seven years.
Image credits: jvn
Image credits: jvn
Here’s how people reacted to Cosmo’s cover
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Food for thought: the are countries around the world, and eras within "western, christian" history, where: 1) men wear / wore skirts 2) men wear / wore makeup 3) men wear / wore heals Also worth noting that there are thousands of definitions of what "masculine" is, depending on the country / culture / income bracket / location / age / area of education / area of employment / overall demographic. It is literally impossible for one man (or any human), to please every single pre-requisite for what others think they "should" be. Oh.... and p.s. not so long ago, women were arrested / refused service / kicked out of businesses for wearing pants, as it was deemed "immoral", and yet pretty much every woman within western society has at least one pair of pants & it's now considered 100% normal. <3
Thank you Pseudo Puppy! Well said! I'd like to add that, less than 200 years ago, pink was worn by men of royalty in Europe as it was considered a sign of power and money.
re: the whole "pink" topic, you're right in that it used to be "pink for boys" & "blue for girls". It all changed after WWI, when women were "allowed" to work & earn money, in order to help the war efforts, because most men were fighting. This realisation that women could actually do physical labour / were smart enough to do skilled tasks / were capable of managing the household's finances etc, lead to the 'boyish' changes in the 1920's (think pageBOY haircuts (a hair cut specifically for boys), shorter skirts, straight up-and-down dresses (to hide the female curves), & dancing solo (not relying on a male partner to 'lead' the dance). Along with this, also came the intentional adoption of women wearing pink, a boy's colour. Women started to 'cross dress' their children, (girls in pink, & boys in blue), in protest, in order to promote the idea that women were deserving of equal rights. (like recently kids being dressed in 'neutral' colours). ie in the end, it's all transient
I ask this out of ignorance/curiosity not malice, but I always thought he/him pronouns were for people who identify as male in some respect? And that the whole point of being non binary is to not identify as male or female, to not be defined by gender? Therefore shouldn't the pronouns be they/them or one of the slightly clunkier versions like xe/xir?
Non binary just means you don't strictly identify as male or female. This includes being gender fluid or self identified gender queer, so some non binary people still use cis pronouns. (Note that gender queer is an identity and is different than the slur)
I would like to personally thank you for being honest with your question.
Sometimes it's about not making people change the way they speak, :) other times it's because you're not "out" to everyone- my reason personally is because, "eh, close enough". Other times too it's maybe because they see the masculine or feminine as being a higher percentage within them? But high percentage doesn't mean 100%? Or perhaps some combination of the above
I still don’t get it, if one has “XY chromosomes” you’re MALE and if one has “XX chromosomes” you’re female, one CAN NOT change that no matter what one does!!! so...
In technicality, I believe there are actually instances of other chromosomal mixes, such as XXY and X. Something to bear in mind, life's not black and white.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah you're exactly right you don't have to be polite about it. I find it ridiculous how non binary people say to us that we HAVE to sue the right pronouns for them and if we get it wrong we are attacked. Then there's people like him who are going against even THOSE rules. You can't win!! How am I supposed to use the correct pronouns for someone out of respect if they say they're non binary but leave out the crucial part about them preferring the pronouns he/his/him? Um seriously?
Not all non binary people are so touchy :) so please don't lump them together. Some of us are more understanding if we don't present any particular way physically.
@Millie Holmes. If you don't know a person's pronouns, you can just ask them.
@Lag. You seem to be very confused, equating the message that queer people exist and that's OK with recruitment. Trust me, we aren't doing that as you are either born LGBTQ or you aren't. And yes, I do feel sorry for you, all of that hatred inside of you must make you incredibly sad.
Fa-bu-lously beautiful!
Food for thought: the are countries around the world, and eras within "western, christian" history, where: 1) men wear / wore skirts 2) men wear / wore makeup 3) men wear / wore heals Also worth noting that there are thousands of definitions of what "masculine" is, depending on the country / culture / income bracket / location / age / area of education / area of employment / overall demographic. It is literally impossible for one man (or any human), to please every single pre-requisite for what others think they "should" be. Oh.... and p.s. not so long ago, women were arrested / refused service / kicked out of businesses for wearing pants, as it was deemed "immoral", and yet pretty much every woman within western society has at least one pair of pants & it's now considered 100% normal. <3
Thank you Pseudo Puppy! Well said! I'd like to add that, less than 200 years ago, pink was worn by men of royalty in Europe as it was considered a sign of power and money.
re: the whole "pink" topic, you're right in that it used to be "pink for boys" & "blue for girls". It all changed after WWI, when women were "allowed" to work & earn money, in order to help the war efforts, because most men were fighting. This realisation that women could actually do physical labour / were smart enough to do skilled tasks / were capable of managing the household's finances etc, lead to the 'boyish' changes in the 1920's (think pageBOY haircuts (a hair cut specifically for boys), shorter skirts, straight up-and-down dresses (to hide the female curves), & dancing solo (not relying on a male partner to 'lead' the dance). Along with this, also came the intentional adoption of women wearing pink, a boy's colour. Women started to 'cross dress' their children, (girls in pink, & boys in blue), in protest, in order to promote the idea that women were deserving of equal rights. (like recently kids being dressed in 'neutral' colours). ie in the end, it's all transient
I ask this out of ignorance/curiosity not malice, but I always thought he/him pronouns were for people who identify as male in some respect? And that the whole point of being non binary is to not identify as male or female, to not be defined by gender? Therefore shouldn't the pronouns be they/them or one of the slightly clunkier versions like xe/xir?
Non binary just means you don't strictly identify as male or female. This includes being gender fluid or self identified gender queer, so some non binary people still use cis pronouns. (Note that gender queer is an identity and is different than the slur)
I would like to personally thank you for being honest with your question.
Sometimes it's about not making people change the way they speak, :) other times it's because you're not "out" to everyone- my reason personally is because, "eh, close enough". Other times too it's maybe because they see the masculine or feminine as being a higher percentage within them? But high percentage doesn't mean 100%? Or perhaps some combination of the above
I still don’t get it, if one has “XY chromosomes” you’re MALE and if one has “XX chromosomes” you’re female, one CAN NOT change that no matter what one does!!! so...
In technicality, I believe there are actually instances of other chromosomal mixes, such as XXY and X. Something to bear in mind, life's not black and white.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah you're exactly right you don't have to be polite about it. I find it ridiculous how non binary people say to us that we HAVE to sue the right pronouns for them and if we get it wrong we are attacked. Then there's people like him who are going against even THOSE rules. You can't win!! How am I supposed to use the correct pronouns for someone out of respect if they say they're non binary but leave out the crucial part about them preferring the pronouns he/his/him? Um seriously?
Not all non binary people are so touchy :) so please don't lump them together. Some of us are more understanding if we don't present any particular way physically.
@Millie Holmes. If you don't know a person's pronouns, you can just ask them.
@Lag. You seem to be very confused, equating the message that queer people exist and that's OK with recruitment. Trust me, we aren't doing that as you are either born LGBTQ or you aren't. And yes, I do feel sorry for you, all of that hatred inside of you must make you incredibly sad.
Fa-bu-lously beautiful!