Asian model Lauren Chan makes history as first out lesbian on SI swimsuit issue

Lauren Chan, an Asian and Middle Eastern plus-sized model, has made history by being the first openly lesbian model to feature on the cover of the highly popular Sports Illustrated (SI) swimsuit issue, the magazine's most well-known edition. This achievement moved her to tears and advanced her commitment to “dismantling the beauty ideal,” as she recently explained to People magazine.

According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, the issue was released on May 13, and Chan was unaware when she took the photos in March that one of them would be chosen as one of the four cover shots for the edition, each starring a different model. “My whole career has been based on representation and inclusion,” she stated to the publication mentioned earlier. “Although my career has taken different forms, the same North Star has been followed, and that is to represent people like me who have felt marginalized and left out to have them feel not just included but celebrated.”

Although the Canadian-born model first appeared in SI in 2023, she also founded the plus-size clothing brand Henning, worked as an associate fashion editor at Glamour magazine, received multiple awards for her editorial work, and participated in the second season of the reality TV game show The Traitors Canada.

“It’s not just being included, it’s that extra step of celebration,” Chan said regarding her SI swimsuit issue cover appearance. “It’s that extra platform to represent people like me who haven’t been here before, and now they can see themselves somewhere like this platform and imagine that they can be there too.”

MJ Day, SI’s Editor-in-Chief, commented on Chan’s cover appearance, stating, “[Chan] is rewriting fashion’s narrative. As a model, activist, and entrepreneur, her ‘why’ is about making people think of beauty in a way that’s inclusive, genuine, and empowering. As a writer, she challenges the industry’s narrow standards, offering a new vision where all bodies and stories are celebrated.”

First published in 1964, the SI swimsuit issue remains the magazine’s most popular annual instalment, though it has faced criticism over the years. In a 1997 book, sports sociologist Laurel R. Davis reviewed every SI swimsuit issue since the inaugural one and discovered that the issues reinforced traditional gender roles, marginalised people of colour and non-heterosexuals, and portrayed women as dependent, emotionally vulnerable, and disconnected from the sporting context.

While the magazine has diversified its swimsuit offerings since then, Chan’s inclusion marks further progress for Asian, plus-size, and queer representation on a major national sports platform.