Tyson Beckford and Trans Model Ines Rau Are Gorgeously Naked

This whole thing, obviously, is NSFW, and gorgeously so: 90s supermodel Tyson Beckford appears completely naked in a new spread in OOB, a French luxury magazine. Posing with him is Ines Rau, a Parisian model who recently came out as transgender and who seems to be on the verge of a major career breakthrough. 

 

The editorial, which is titled "Tropical Surrealism," was photographed by Rodolfo Martinez. To say that it's "erotic" or "sensual" is a bit of an understatement: at points, it veers very close to the realm of (very tasteful and quite artistic!) porn — Rau's Facebook and Instagram accounts were both temporarily shut down after she tried to post photos from the spread. Here are some highlights, via OUT:

 

Some background on Rau: in an interview with Models.com from August, she says that she transitioned at age 16 but didn't come out for several years. "After reading [Tula's] book [I Am Woman] at least two times I realized how important it is to assume who you are with no fears," she said. "I just woke up one day realizing that it's enough, I need to embrace who I am and be loved for what I am and what I have been through — without the fear of being rejected."

Reflecting on her life as a woman, she added, "It's fabulous the level of happiness — it's just absolutely impossible to describe. I'm the happiest girl in the world, just being what I wanted to be."

 

In addition to this editorial, she has several other projects in the works — she did a shoot with Ellen von Unwerth and the androgynous model Andrej Peijic; she was shot for Lurve Magazine; and she'll be appearing in the Art Issue of American Playboy, "representing the letter E as Evolution," along with an interview.

 Loath as I am to take anything in Playboy as a sign of progress, it seems that this is a pretty strong indication that our cultural attitudes are changing for the better.