A model has told how she identifies as asexual despite working for a lingerie and sex-positive brand.
Yasmine Benoit, 27, has had a successful career as a model for famous brands such as Ann Summers, Playful Promise, and Thistle and Spire.
However, the model, who came out as asexual at the age of 15, feels little sexual attraction regardless of gender.
She said that modeling work is “a basic form of acting” and that by working with a sex-positive brand, she wanted to represent something different.
Yasmin says she is also aromatic. That means he doesn’t feel any romantic attraction.
Yasmin, from Reading, Berkshire, said: ‘Just because I’m an asexual model doesn’t mean I’m anti-sex.
“You can be sexually empowered while being asexual.
“By collaborating with these lingerie brands, we really want to break stereotypes.
“The campaigns I’ve been working on are very female-centered and the goal is to promote body comfort.
“I want to show that asexuality can also be like this.
“I place great importance on making clothes look beautiful, so I don’t mind modeling in sexy poses.
“This is my job, so it’s very logistical.
“I’m selling a product, not myself.”
Yasmin knew from an early age that she was asexual, and began coming out to her friends and family in middle school.
She claims that it took years for people to understand their sexuality, and that it is a lesser-known part of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Coming out as asexual was a long process,” Yasmin said.
“I realized I was asexual when other people realized they weren’t asexual.
“I didn’t feel the same way about sex and relationships as my friends did.
“A lot of people don’t understand what asexuality is. They think you’re just an arrogant person or there’s something wrong with you.
“But that’s simply not the case, which is why it’s great to see lingerie brands trying to be more inclusive by featuring models of all sexualities.”
Yasmin, who didn’t have a partner, started modeling at the age of 18 and booked her first underwear shoot in 2015.
She has worked in New York, Serbia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic for brands such as Bloom & Wild, Mercedes, and Benefit Cosmetics.
Yasmin said: “I love modeling and being part of a wider community.
“Modeling also helped me build a platform. I’m happy to be able to represent something different.”
Yasmin’s success as a model has led her to campaign and advocate for the rights of asexual people.
She partnered with Stonewall to bring together an asexual rights initiative called the Stonewall x Yasmin Benoît Ace Project, a project to better understand the experiences of asexual people in the UK.
She is also campaigning for asexuality to be recognized as a sexual orientation and included in the Equality Act.
Yasmin said: “Asexuality is very misunderstood.
“The lack of legal recognition leaves members of the community vulnerable to discrimination.
“I hope that my work as a lingerie model will help remove the stigma and misconceptions about asexuality.
“It doesn’t have to be about sex; rather, it’s about your relationship with yourself.”
