5 Gay Models You Should Know Are Gay!

Ten years ago, if you were a guy who went into modeling you were seen as gay, because everyone believed that male models were gay. My, how times have changed.

Before the 2000s, the anonymous model – male and female – remained, well, anonymous. Without the opportunity to get to know them in the media, the stereotype of the limp-wristed, image-obsessed gay man in fashion was projected onto male models, which lead everyone to assume they, too, were queer.

Slowly, the media took an interest in the lives of models and began telling their stories. The cliché story of a guy being discovered while accompanying his girlfriend at a casting was common, and suddenly, those in the industry clearly understood that, contrary to popular belief, gay models were in the minority in fashion.

Ten years later, times have changed. Gay models still aren’t as common as their hetero counterparts, and they might not all be Richard Simmons out, but there’s definitely more to talk about today. Here are 5 gay models you should know are gay!

Jon Kortajarena

The 26-year-old Spaniard is like Anderson Cooper: always talked about, is the guy you wish were gay and actually is, out but not OUT, and looks good in Tom Ford. Speaking of which, you’ll recognize him as the signature model from Tom Ford’s ad campaigns and from the cray-cray steamy scene in Ford’s A Single Man (shown above), where Kortajarena took on somewhat of a James Dean persona (let’s not even talk about the James Dean gay connection here). This gay male model has also appeared in L’Officiel Hommes (once the magazine devoted an entire 200 pages to him) and Forbes ranked Jon Kortajarena 8th in The World’s 10 Most Successful Male Models. He currently lives in the West Village, and I’m hoping to see him in an It Gets Better vid soon.

 

Freja Beha Erichsen

Do a Google Images search for “model street style” and you’ll be sure to land on a dozen of this girl’s pictures. Dubbed the “Queen of Cool,” she’s become the muse for designers like Karl Lagerfeld and has been the inspiration for product names, like the Alexander Wang Freja Lace-Up Stiletto Boot. When it comes to her personal life, she’s been linked to dating fellow gay model Catherine McNeil, and more recently Arizona Muse, though the jury’s still very much out on that one.

Andrej Pejic

Regardless of his sexual orientation, the 20-year-old has become a favorite of the LGBT community, alongside models like Lea T. Pejic told New York Magazine that, “I know people want me to sort of defend myself, to sit here and be like, ‘I’m a boy, but I wear makeup sometimes.’ But, you know, to me, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really have that sort of strong gender identity—I identify as what I am.” Say what you want, but he’s definitely a role model for a lot of people.

Nick Snider

Where to begin? The good: In 2008, Forbes named him the world’s 5th most successful male model. The bad: In 2010, the gay male model offered a cop oral sex to be released after being associated with disturbances at a friend’s house in Arkansas. HuffPo reports that he told one of the deputies, “If you stop I’ll suck your dick and balls if you let me go.”

Catherine McNeil

This Australian beauty rounds up my list of gay models. She’s appeared in everything from campaigns for Gap to Louis Vuitton. While she’s been linked to Freja Beha Erichsen, her ties to Ruby Rose is what gets the most attention. In 2009, she was photographed locking lips with Rose in L.A. Rumors of an off-and-on-again engagement between the two are still circulating.

If you liked this, you’ll want to check out the 5 Canadian Male Models You Should Know Are Canadian!