I first wrote about Andrej Pejic for the Winter 2011 newsletter, "Gender and the Media". Pejic is a model whose long blonde hair, high cheekbones and pout have been gaining a lot of fame and followers in the fashion world recently, walking in many prominent womenswear shows and even closing Jean Paul Gaultier's SP11 Couture show in the finale bridal gown. Pejic also happens to be a teenage boy.

He has been embraced by the fashion community and his career as a model has so far been extremely successful. Recently, however, FHM magazine (similar to Maxim) named him #98 on their list of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World. Unfortunately, the accompanying copy was one of the most ignorant and offensive pieces of trash I've ever read. It was taken down quickly, but here's a screenshot:

There are too many heteronormative, hateful and ignorant things written here to even try and point out, because I would just end up quoting the whole thing. Pejic has never been shy about his maleness, nor has ever tried to "keep it a secret". And just because this one writer can't seem to comprehend the notion of a pretty man, the writer feels privileged enough to take away his humanity. Let's hope that models like Pejic and Lea T are more than a passing trend, and rise to the tops of their fields because they are beautiful and talented, regardless of what their gender identity may or may not be.

FHM remained quiet about this over the weekend, only to replace his page with the following "apology":

Andrej Pejic appears at number 98 in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2011.

Regrettably the copy accompanying Andrej’s online entry wasn’t subbed prior to going live. Once we realised, we removed it immediately and apologised for any offence caused.

FHM has spoken to the individual concerned and taken steps to ensure this can never happen again.

Essentially, they're embarrassed that the copy wasn't edited properly and cleaned up to be less obviously ignorant (although the apology doesn't seem to have gone through editing either, given the multiple misspellings). The writer was obviously threatened by Pejic's sexual appeal, and seems to have triggered some sort of fear that finding a man like Pejic sexy was threatening his own masculinity and decided to prove it by spewing hate. I can't say I'm totally surprised, especially considering that this copy was written for a list that ranked women by their sexual appeal, but I'm disappointed that no one else at the magazine doesn't seem to get it.