Rain Dove Dubilewski (born September 27, 1989) is an American model, actor, and activist, best known for their work in fashion as a gender-nonconforming model,[3] posing alternately as male and female in photoshoots, productions, and runway shows. Dove was voted as SheWired's Most Eligible Bachelorette in 2014[4] and named one of Elle Magazine's 12 Women Who Are Redefining Beauty in 2015.[5]
Rain Dove | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1989 Vermont, United States |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Hair color | Brown[1] |
| Eye color | Brown[1] |
| Agencies | |
A self-described "gender capitalist", Dove has written, "I've never really cared about pronouns for my own descriptors",[6] and that they disavow personal pronouns and ask people to choose whichever they feel apply: "Use she, he, it, one, they ... I honestly don't care ... All I'm listening for in that sound is positivity."[7]
Early life and education
editAssigned female at birth, Dove spent their early years believing they were ugly: they had a larger physique than other children and youth, and were given the nickname "Tranny Danny".[8] Initially, Dove claimed in interviews and biographies to have studied genetic engineering and civil law at University of California, Berkeley. They also claimed to have worked as a Colorado Firefighter under a male pseudonym, and to have passed as a man during this time, for a period of eleven months.[8] However, in late 2019 Dove admitted in a video on NBC News that both of these claims (of having studied genetics and law, and of having been a firefighter) were false.[9]
Modeling career
editDove began a modeling career after being challenged by a friend to present themselves as a man in a Calvin Klein casting for underwear. At the casting, they were handed the outfit for the test shoot, which was just a pair of underwear. When Dove came in topless, the designer responded by giving them a men's shirt and saying "Swear to God, you will not tell anyone you're a woman!"[10] After the show, people began seeking Dove for modeling jobs; three months later they accepted their first modeling job and have since walked at New York fashion week on both men's and women's runways.[11]
Activism
editDuring their final year in high school, Dove intentionally became homeless as a social experiment to "document how homelessness affected my academics".[12] After this, Dove became more involved in activism and politics, and said they became interested in working for the United Nations prior to finding a career in fashion: "I wanted to work for the U.N. (United Nations) ... I would have applied at the U.N. and would have probably been working in some third world country, or a country that has water rights issues. Gender would be the least of my worries."[13]
Dove supported the movement against North Carolina's HB2, which legislated that individuals had to use the restrooms corresponding with the sex listed on their birth certificates.[12] In 2018, Dove said they were pepper-sprayed in a women's restroom in North Carolina by a woman who thought Dove was a man.[14][15]
Regarding the fashion industry and gender issues, Dove states that advertising agencies "aren't some evil illuminati trying to dupe the people into living heteronormative white lifestyles" and that they are simply "trying to make money in the safest way possible."[16] For example, Dove says of Queer Fashion Week, "When you have an event like this, you are telling the large conglomerates like Gap, Levi's, H & M etcetera that there is money to be made and there is a desire to represent the queer community in the commercial side of the fashion world. They don't have to be afraid to align themselves with the LGBTQ community."[13]
A new clothing line by the name Phluid Project caught Dove's attention and got their support for being the first major non-binary clothing store in New York, and they participated in a panel as moderator.[17]
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dove led an effort to get transgender and other vulnerable people out of the country.[18]
In 2024 during the Israel–Hamas war, Dove founded the grassroots initiative Safebow Gazan Aid, which they co-direct with Egypt-based American Arielle El-Bagory, to evacuate "exceptionally vulnerable" Palestinians to Egypt and provide refugees with basic needs assistance.[19]
Personal life
editDove dated actor Rose McGowan in 2018, but the couple split up after Dove sold TMZ texts in which Asia Argento, a friend of McGowan's, seemingly admits to sexually assaulting Jimmy Bennett.[9]
Dove describes themself as a "gender capitalist", explaining, "Gender Capitalism is both Feminist and Masculinist. It's everythingist. It's the recognition that I, as an organism, am treated differently based on my perceived genitalia and the identity surrounding that relationship."[12] They have also said, "You can identify with whatever you want. It's just that you recognise how society sees gender and you capitalise on it."[7] In their work, this means using acting skills like changes in posture, gait and voice to strategically appear more femme or masculine at different times, both to "subvert expectations" of both gender expressions, and to "maximise opportunity and earnings".[7]
See also
edit- Leslie Feinberg – Pioneering author in the field of gender studies who expressed some similar attitudes around shifting pronouns in differing social settings
- LGBT culture in New York City
- List of LGBT people from New York City
- NYC Pride March
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Rain Dove". Major New York. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ "Rain". Profile. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ Severeson, Kim (August 29, 2018). "Rain Dove Says Asia Argento Texts Were Sent to the Police". The New York Times.
- ^ SheWired editors (March 13, 2014). "The 31 Most Eligible Out Women of 2014". Pride. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Leal, Samantha (March 23, 2015). "11 Women Who Are Redefining Beauty". Marie Claire. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Dove, Rain (Jan 10, 2019). "One of my close friends calls me 'It' during fashion week [...]". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25.
I've never really cared about pronouns for my own descriptors.
- ^ a b c Cocozza, Paula (10 Sep 2018). "'Every step I take is a defiance': Rain Dove on modelling, Asia Argento and 'gender capitalism'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b Karlan, Sarah. "13 Reasons Rain Dove Is The Androgynous Model Of Your Dreams". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ a b Kacala, Alexander. "Rain Dove admits to selling TMZ incriminating Asia Argento texts". NBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Love, Bret (June 25, 2015). "Q&A: How Rain Dove Went From "Tranny Danny" to Transforming the Fashion Industry". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Young, Sarah (July 10, 2017). "Rain Dove is the genderless firefighter changing the face of the modeling industry". The Independent. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fortin, Candice (June 7, 2016). "Model and activist Rain Dove on HB2, Trans/Gender Rights, and The Future". Posture Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ a b Sweetbriar, BeBe (April 3, 2015). "Rain Dove & Cory Wade: Breaking the Gender Binary in Fashion". It's Everything. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Ella Braidwood, Rain Dove: Model pepper sprayed in women's restroom, 23 November 2018, Pink News
- ^ Gender-fluid model Rain Dove allegedly pepper-sprayed in womens' [sic] toilets by a mother, responds with kindness, 28 November 2018, Yahoo News / Style
- ^ Villarreal, Yezmin (October 19, 2015). "Model Rain Dove Is the Girl (or Boy, Whatever) Next Door". The Advocate. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Cuby, Michael (April 11, 2018). "Fashion Meets Activism At The World's First Gender-Free Store". Them. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Dawson, Bethany (March 13, 2022). "How a transgender Ukrainian man escaped Russia's invasion: 'I painted my nails violet and wore Mom's shirt to look more girly.'". Business Insider. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "What We Do". Safebow Gazan Aid. Retrieved 9 March 2024.