Move over, Gisele: Transgenders break into Brazil’s much-hyped modeling sector

[Shana A]

Move over, Gisele: Transgenders break into Brazil's much-hyped modeling sector

By Associated Press,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/celebrities/move-over-gisele-transgenders-break-into-brazils-much-hyped-modeling-sector/2012/12/06/c30e77fc-3f78-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html

RIO DE JANEIRO — Walking the catwalk in a Brazilian bikini is a nerve-racking experience for even the most seasoned of models, but for Felipa Tavares it's nothing short of terrifying.

The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models — leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals.

Though they emerged onto the scene here just around two years ago, Brazil's so-called trans-models have already added a pinch of exoticism to the country's showcase modeling sector — long dominated by blonde women such as Brazilian uber-model Gisele Bundchen. The trans-models' newfound prominence also points to a seismic shift in Brazilian society, which has seen macho, homophobic attitudes soften in recent years as gays win more legal rights.