Yasmin Benoit

As one of the UK’s top black models, Yasmin Benoit is also known for being an asexual activist, writer, and speaker. She is exceptionally passionate about diversity and has fought hard to change the media’s perceptions of asexuality and aromantics, particularly for black women, after finding people cannot believe a black female can be asexual. Now widely known as the creator of #ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike, her activism has been widely recognised, and in 2021, she was bestowed the Attitude Pride Award, giving her passion and dedication the credit it deserves.

Yasmin first began her modelling career when she was 18 years old, with the intention to diversify the under-represented fashion industry. Having grown up in Reading, she was the only black girl in her high school and was therefore all too aware of what underrepresentation felt like. In 2018 Yasmin started public speaking whilst studying for her MSc in Crime Science and, since, her activism has been covered by national and international press, such as the BBC, Vogue, British GQ and Sky News. She has also shared her experiences on her own BBC Sound series: Me and My Asexuality.

Not only has Yasmin had a successful career in modelling, having walked the London Queer Fashion Show and appearing on the front cover of Attitude Magazine, in 2019 she became a Board Member of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and she is the first openly aromantic-asexual activist to win an LGBTQ+ award. Having cofounded International Asexuality Day on 6th April 2021, Yasmin has proved she is once again an essential and leading figure in raising awareness about asexuality. More recently, in 2022, she was awarded ‘Campaigner of the Year’ at the Rainbows Honours, and partnered up with Stonewall to launch the UK’s first asexual rights initiative, proving her dedication to activism. She is also dedicated to empowering women to prove that they should not look a certain way be to aromantic and asexual by joining with lingerie companies such as Love Honey and Ann Summers after finding people find it hard to believe a black female can be asexual.

An experienced public speaker, having given talks with TEDx, the NHS, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Prague Pride, Euro Pride, Doc Martens and Educating Out Racism, to name a few, Yasmin has the ability to tailor her speeches to the audience, be it students, brands or volunteers. Yasmin is devoted to empowering people to speak out about their identity, and break the stigma around asexual and aromantic people. She uses her own experiences to educate those around her to deliver powerful and thought-provoking speeches. If you’re looking for a devoted and passionate LGBTQIA+ female motivation speaker do not hesitate to book Yasmin Benoit.