“Coming out” is a significant moment in the life of any LGBTQ+ person. Regardless of circumstances or timing, this decision should be dictated by said person only. However, every October 11, National Coming Out Day (NCOD) offers the queer and trans communities a time to celebrate and reflect on their moment.
National Coming Out Day has been officially observed in America since the late 1980s. This year, let’s use the holiday to shine a light on a few Playboy LGBTQ+ Playmates and their personal stories.
Ashley Hobbs
Back in 2020, Playboy and Tori Lynn Adams chatted with 2010 Playmate Ashley Hobbs on her sexual identity. Hobbs expressed that her mother seemed to anticipate her coming out.
“About three years ago when I was living in San Diego I started talking to my current girlfriend. I ended up really liking her and decided to call my mom to tell her. She instantly knew what I was going to say and blurted out, ‘What? You’re gay?’” Ashley Hobbs shared with Playboy in 2020.
However, when Ashley Hobbs came out to her dad, there may have been some denial on his part.
“With my dad, he didn’t really understand, and he thought it was more of a friendship at first. But now we go over there and they show [my girlfriend] so much love and it’s like they have a fourth daughter.”
Geena Rocero
It can be extremely tough to navigate through various international cultures, but especially so for those that identify as trans or queer. However, Geena Rocero also shared what it’s like to take control of her own narrative.
“When I turned 30, I was coming to terms with the next phase of my life, and I decided that I had had enough. I was tired of living with shame and internalized transphobia. I wanted to find the biggest platform I could and tell the whole world my story. So I gave a TED Talk and opened up about my experience. It was so freeing,” said Rocero.
Teela LaRoux
Teela LaRoux is another LGBTQ+ Playmate that was eager to tell her story. The Seattle native and July 2019 Playmate of the Month noted that she grew up with supportive women in her life. Still, LaRoux did not come out publicly until she was in her early 20s.
“I came out as lesbian when I was around 21. My first girlfriend and I were roommates and ended up falling in love. Most of my family was really accepting of it, and I felt very supported. A decade later, I realized that I didn’t base my love on gender, but more on connection. So I came out again as pansexual,” Teela LaRoux shared with Playboy.
For reasons unknown, LaRoux faced much more adversity when she came out as pansexual, even from other queer individuals.
“People would tell me that I was ‘just confused.’ And at that point I was confused, but it wasn’t by my sexuality, it was by their reaction. The whole foundation of the LGBTQ community is that we should be able to love whoever we want, so why was my own community judging me? It made me realize that a lot of education still needs to happen within the LGBTQ community, not just outside of it,” expressed LaRoux.
Gillian Chan
November 2019 Playmate Gillian Chan’s coming out came in stages, she tells Playboy.
“I told my friends that I was bisexual when I was 16, but I wasn’t really ‘out’ because I saw how brutal it was for one of my classmates,” Chan said. “When I went to college I had my first girlfriend and came into my identity more. At first I was like, ”Okay, I’m lesbian,’ but it never really felt right. As a mixed-race person, I’ve always felt like I lived in this middle area, so I felt pressure to pick a side when it came to my sexuality. I also felt some pressure from the gay community to either be straight or lesbian. Now I’m more comfortable with my fluidity, and I define myself as pansexual.”
Ines Rau
Ines Rau made history by appearing in Playboy as its first transgender cover model back in 2017, but she’d been a Playmate long before that, first appearing in our May 2014 A-Z issue.
Reflecting back on her own coming out, the French Playmate recalls it as a major turning point in her life.
“I woke up one morning engaged to a very rich man in Los Angeles, but he did not know I was trans. I knew that this wasn’t the life I wanted,” she told Playboy. “I didn’t want to hide who I was to others, or more importantly, to myself. It was not an easy decision. I knew that I was going to lose everything: my house, my relationship, my money, everything. I called up my agent and told her I wanted to ‘come out.’ I did a bunch of press interviews and photo shoots (including one that appears in the May 2014 Playboy), and I changed the trajectory of my life overnight. I absolutely do not regret my choice. I have never been so happy—freedom is priceless!”