CNN profiled model Carmen Carrera on their in-depth profile seriesIn the Spotlight as she prepped for her first international photo spread with Glamour UK.
Carmen first made headlines as a fiery contestant on season three of the hit reality series Rupaul's Drag Race in 2010. She was eliminated mid season but she didn't need to win Drag Race to cement her place as a star in the fashion world and a leader in the transgender community. She began her transition immediately following her stint on the show and her fame skyrocketed. She signed with Elite Model Management, one of the premier modeling agencies in the world and her loyal fan based crafted a change.org petition that garnered over 46,000 signatures for her to be the next Victoria Secret angel. Although Victoria Secret has yet to respond to the petition, Carmen will be auditioning to be the first transgender model to join the ranks of supermodel legends like Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell.
Carmen was recently in the spotlight again after she gracifully managed intrusive questions about her body and her transition on The Katie Couric show. "They kind of always just make it about 'well lets see your before lets see your after and what do your genitals look like.' It doesn't give trans people the proper credit especially when you're working hard and you're doing things that not a lot of other trans people get to do."
Transgender people have been very visible in the media lately. This has sparked much needed conversation about transgender representation in the media, stereotypes and the meaning of authentic allyship.