The January 2020 cover of the UK’s Cosmopolitan magazine will feature Queer Eye’s very own Jonathan Van Ness. This will be their first time featuring a solo non-female cover star on their magazine in 35 years. Can I get a “YAS QUEEN?!” The editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan UK, Claire Hodgson says, “Jonathan is warm, funny, opinionated, kind and brave, all qualities that resonate with our audience. [JVN] is encouraging people to love who they are, which is at the heart of what our brand stands for – we could do it all with a little more self-love in our lives.” Now, let’s dive into the details!
Posed in an orange-colored, fluffy Christian Siriano gown and trendy sneakers, JVN has broken records here. Christian Siriano is known for creating eye-catching pieces for stars that tend to be ignored by more major fashion designers. The star and grooming connoisseur of Netflix’s popular show Queer Eye, is known for embracing gender inclusivity and expressing body positivity. This British fashion magazine cover is just one of Jonathan’s many accomplishments in the past year. He has also become a role model for people living with HIV when he wrote about being HIV-positive in his memoir Over the Top. He is also the first non-female ambassador for the popular nail polish brand Essie. Identifying as genderqueer and nonbinary, he uses he/him pronouns but does not identify as a man. “I’ve been wearing heels and wearing makeup and wearing skirts and stuff for a minute, honey. I just, like, didn’t know what that meant – that I had a title,” JVN says. Cosmopolitan UK is definitely not sticking to the status quo. They even listed on the cover of the magazine under his name, “Yep, we did it. You’re totally welcome,” because they know how big of a deal this really is. Having Jonathan Van Ness on this cover will definitely diversify their readers and represent an all-inclusive community.
Courtesy of @jvn
JVN took to his Twitter and Instagram accounts to give us a much-adored sneak peek of the cover and show how excited he was. Needless to say, the feedback from fans was insanely positive.
Courtesy of @jvn
Courtesy of @jvn
One Direction were the last male stars on the cover of Cosmopolitan UK in 2012 and before them was Boy George who had his own solo cover in 1984. After shooting the cover Jonathan Van Ness spoke about his experience, “Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman. I think my energies are all over the place. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I’m here for it.” He is doing exactly that on the January 2020 cover of Cosmopolitan’s UK magazine. JVN is known for going against mainstream media and acting proudly as himself.
Jonathan Van Ness has stolen our hearts since the first episode of Queer Eye and seeing him create a name for himself by being true to who he is is inspiring. As JVN would say, “There ain’t no shame in that self-love game, honey!”
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