Is the Sports Illustrated Swimwear issue the new barometer on American women’s sexuality?

On the same day that the legendary magazine Sports Illustrated introduced three cover stars for the 2021 edition, Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters reintroduced the one-beloved lingerie brand to investors and analysts ahead of the retailer’s August 3 spin off. Within weeks, Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works will be separate companies..

Three Self-Identifying Black Women Launch Sports Illustrated 2021 Swimsuit Issue

The Sports Illustrated Swimwear cover release was a time for celebration, with trans model Leyna Bloom spotted in first place on photographer Yu Tsai’s IG. Bloom publicized her inclusion in the magazine in March, but Monday’s cover news was a fresh delight.

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka also has a SI swimsuit cover, days ahead of the kickoff of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Today’s third Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover goes to hip hop star Megan Thee Stallion.

We note that all three women identify as Black women, and this reality also must be a first ever, even though few are talking about it. Too much to celebrate, I guess.

Leyna Bloom, First Trans Woman SI Cover

As the first trans person to land on the front page of SI’s annual special issue, Leyna Bloom is breaking new ground.

"I have dreamt a million beautiful dreams, but for girls like me, most dreams are just fanciful hopes in a world that often erases and omits our history and even existence," Bloom wrote of the honor in a lengthy statement on Instagram. "This moment is so powerful because it allows me to live forever even after my physical form is gone. Not a lot of people get to live in the future, so at this moment, I'm proudly choosing to live forever."

Some Osaka Fans ’Revoked’ Her ‘Black’ Card

As Naomi Osaka prepares to play tennis for the Japanese team at the Olympics, she has now spoken of the not so compassionate world she has faced as a mixed-race Haitian Japanese woman identifying as Black. I noted in these pages that Osaka’s depression had to encompass the pride — but also the potential suffering — she would experience not representing the US at the Olympics.

The tennis star Naomi Osaka speaks to the backlash she received over her decision to represent Japan in the upcoming 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In her new Netflix docuseries, Osaka said some critics told her that her “Black card” was revoked.

Such a pill would be difficult for any athlete to endure, but especially because Naomi became very active in the racial justice movement after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The change in Naomi’s sobriety was noticeable to us, as she became increasingly active.

Megan Thee Stallion First Rapper on SI Cover

Megan Thee Stallion is only the second musician to be on the cover, and she's the first rapper. Beyoncé covered the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2007.

According to Nielsen Music, "WAP" accrued a record-breaking 93 million streams in the US the week after its release in August 2020.

Before debuting her single "Body" at the American Music Awards in November last year, the rapper preached a motivating message of self-love, and she’s not flying solo in the community of Black women.

"I love my body. Every curve, every inch, every mark, every dimple is a decoration on my temple. My body is mine. And nobody owns it but me," she said in a prerecorded message that played as she took the stage. "And who I chose to let in is so lucky. You may not think my body is perfect, and it probably never will be, but when I look in the mirror? I love what I see."

Megan Thee Stallion has a very powerful message for all women about body positivity.

MJ Day Reframed Female Sexuality for SI Way Ahead of VS’s Ed Razek and Les Wexner Agreeing They Had a Big Problem

I would like to think that Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters sat down with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue editor MJ Day, before embarking on this new and improved — we dumped the Angels — revamp. I fear VS may swing too far in the opposite direction, when MJ can set them straight on American women and sexuality. Day was appointed senior editor in 2012 and has worked on every Swimsuit issue since 1999.

The members of the VS Collective are first-rate. They are total star power: Adut Akech; refugee model, real supermodel and new Estee Lauder ambassador; Amanda de Cadenet; English photographer, author, and media personality; Eileen Gu, a 17-year-old Chinese American freestyle skier and soon-to-be Olympian; Megan Rapinoe, the 35-year-old pink-haired soccer star and gender equity campaigner; Paloma Elsesser, the biracial rising star model who was the rare size 14 woman on the cover of Vogue; Priyanka Chopra Jonas, a 38-year-old Indian actor, tech investor and new Manhattan restauranteur; and Valentina Sampaio, model and trans activist, 2020 SI Rookie.

MJ pulled the SI Swimsuit out of the clutches of horney men almost a decade ago. She has made the Swimsuit issue a celebration of positive sexuality that VS can only dream about. We used to own it on MJ terms. Then a couple cocky men got Les Wexner’s ear and blew it up.

If nothing else, and I’ve said this in years prior, VS chief marketing officer Martha Pease should put MJ Day on speed-dial with a consulting contract, if SI permits it. Just sayin’. Anne