Yasmin Benoit | |
|---|---|
 Benoit in 2020 | |
| Born | 10 June 1996 Reading, Berkshire, England [1] |
| Alma mater | |
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| Modeling information | |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
Yasmin Benoit (born 10 June 1996) is a lingerie and alternative model in the United Kingdom. She is also an asexual and aromantic activist. [2] [3] [4]
Benoit is of Trinidadian, Jamaican, and Barbadian descent. [5] She attended Reading Girls' School and Padworth College. [6] At a young age, Benoit knew she was not interested in anyone sexually or romantically. [7] [8] She chose to attend an all-girls school to avoid conversations about sexual intercourse and relationships. [7] [9] Benoit came across the term asexual in high school, but she did not identify with it until later in life. [9]
Benoit has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from St Mary's University, Twickenham and a Master of Science in Crime Science from University College London. [10] [11]
Benoit began modeling at age 16, focusing her efforts on alternative fashion despite the industry's emphasis of Eurocentric beauty standards. Her first modeling breakthrough was in 2015 with Scottish brand CRMC. She later modeled with Love Sick London, Dethkult Clothing, Seduced By Lilith, Kuki London, Pin Up Girl Clothing, and Teen Hearts. [12] [13]
In March 2018, Benoit collaborated with African-American-owned gothic fashion brand, Gothic Lamb. [14]
Benoit appeared in a BBC Three documentary on asexuality, but was critical of the experience, claiming the way the documentary framed asexuality was a misrepresentation. [15] She later appeared in a Sky News documentary on asexuality in February 2019. [16] Regarding her work as a lingerie model whilst being asexual, she told Sky News, "I'm literally here to show off the clothes and make it look good. I'm not trying to sell myself, I'm trying to sell a product." [17] This led her to found the hashtag #ThisIsWhatAsexualityLooksLike in 2019. [18]
Benoit wrote for publications including HuffPost UK and gave talks at events and universities, including the University of Cambridge, the UK Asexuality Conference in 2018, Reading Pride, King's College London in February 2019, and National Student Pride. [19] In collaboration with Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), Budweiser, and Revolt London, Benoit hosted the first asexual-themed bar at Pride in London in 2019. [20] She joined the board of directors of AVEN that October. [21] In a December 2019 issue of Attitude titled "The Activists", Benoit became the first openly asexual woman to appear on the cover of a UK magazine. [22] [23]
In early 2020, Benoit worked with England Unwrapped to interview asexual people. [8] The episode was originally broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire and later published on BBC Sounds. [24] She co-founded International Asexuality Day (April 6) in 2021, [25] and in 2022, launched an asexual rights initiative—known as the Stonewall x Yasmin Benoit Ace Project—in partnership with Stonewall. [26] [27]
In June 2023, Benoit became the first openly asexual person to be a grand marshal for the NYC Pride March. [28]
Benoit was a consultant for the final season of Netflix's Sex Education . Following the release of the season, Benoit expressed disappointment that scenes involving an asexual character—especially those dealing with "the intersections of race, privilege, and acephobia"—had been cut or changed in editing. [29] [30]
In 2018, Aislin Magazine wrote, in "the predominantly White alternative branch of modeling, [Benoit has] become one of the UK's most prominent Black alternative models." [19]
In 2021, Benoit was given an Attitude Pride Award. [31] In 2022, Benoit was nominated for a British LGBT Award in the category of Online Influencer. [32] In the same year, she was awarded Campaigner/Influencer of the Year by the Bank of London Rainbow Honours. [33]
Benoit is asexual and aromantic. [34] [4] She came out in a video on YouTube in 2017. [35]
Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities.
Stonewall Equality Limited, trading as Stonewall, is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) rights charity in the United Kingdom. It is the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe.
Over the course of its history, the LGBTQ community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag.
Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah, also known as Lady Phyll, is a British political activist known for her work for racial, gender and LGBT+ equality. She is Co-Founder and Chief Executive of UK Black Pride and former executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:
Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism.
Gray asexuality, grey asexuality, or gray-sexuality is the spectrum between asexuality and allosexuality. Individuals who identify with gray asexuality are referred to as being gray-A, gray ace, and make up what is referred to as the "ace umbrella". Within this spectrum are terms such as demisexual, semisexual, asexual-ish and sexual-ish.
This is a timeline of asexual history worldwide. The briefness of this timeline can be attributed to the fact that acceptance of asexuality as a sexual orientation and field of scientific research is still relatively new.
Discrimination against asexual people, also known as acephobia or aphobia when directed at aspec people, encompasses a range of negative attitudes, behaviours, and feelings toward asexuality or people who identify as part of the asexual spectrum. Negative feelings or characterisations toward asexuality include dehumanisation, the belief that asexuality is a mental illness, that asexual people cannot feel love, and the refusal to accept asexuality as a genuine sexual orientation. Asexuality is sometimes confused with celibacy, abstinence, antisexualism, or hyposexuality. Since discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation belongs under the wider social concept of kyriarchy, any acephobic acts due to intentional discrimination are a form of kyriarchy.
Sounds Fake but Okay is a weekly comedy podcast that focuses on asexuality and aromanticism. The podcast is hosted by University of Michigan alumni Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca. Each Sunday, Costello and Kaszyca "talk about all things to do with love, relationships, sexuality, and pretty much anything else they just don't understand."
The portrayals of asexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards asexuality, reflected in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, asexual characters have appeared in television series, animated series, literature, comics, video games, music, and film.
The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) was founded in 2001 by David Jay. Since June 2022, it has been classed as a 501(c)4 non-profit. By 2021, it had 135,539 members, according to Michael Doré, one of its members in the UK who works with their project team.
Loveless is a novel written by Alice Oseman. Published by HarperCollins Children's Books on 9 July 2020, the novel follows Georgia as she begins university. Depicting her journey of self-discovery as an asexual and aromantic individual, the novel received positive reception from literary reviewers and media outlets.
The asexual flag is a pride flag representing the asexual community created in 2010 by a member of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). The flag features four horizontal stripes of equal size. From top to bottom, the stripes are black, gray, white, and purple. The black stripe represents asexuality, the gray stripe represents gray-asexuality and demisexuality, the white stripe represents allosexuality, and the purple stripe represents the community as a whole. The flag is often flown at pride events and is used to represent the asexual community.
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