Nyle DiMarco

proudly covers June’s Pride edition of Gay Times magazine.

Artist Cacho Falcon has written ‘I love you’ in sign language across the model’s torso in a message of loving support to the queer deaf community.

In his interview, Nyle DiMarco calls for deaf and disabled people to help organise pride, as he notes:

“There is a massive number of people, groups of people, who are not being heard or who are overlooked. Despite the power of social media, which could be a useful tool to educate people, we’ve become so divided and so afraid to open up, listen, and communicate. We need to start listening to each other. How can 466 million people with hearing loss join in on that conversation and find their ‘identity’ if they are denied access to what they’re saying? Often there are not interpreters at Pride events for Deaf LGBTQ people and allies. The best solution is to have Deaf and people with disabilities involved in organising Pride events.”

Nyle also wore a jacket covered in love hearts, rainbow socks and acid wash rainbow briefs.

Nyle DiMarco is an outspoken activist, actor and model who lives at the intersection of his sexual fluidity and deafness.

Nyle is one of 25 deaf people in his family, and is now using his platform to educate and inform people of just how inaccessible part of our world remains to hearing impaired people.

After becoming the first deaf person to win America’s Next Top Model in 2015, Nyle is fully aware of the power and importance of visibility, and speaks with Gay Times on raising awareness of ASL, and the problems that queer deaf people still face.

Well, that’s definitely an attribute to be proud of!

Some of the images from the shoot can be seen below.