Miss Italy pageant defends decision to ban transgender women from contest after Rikkie Valerie Kollé’s win in Netherlands, saying it will ‘not jump on glittering bandwagon of trans activism’
- Patrizia Mirigliani, patron of Miss Italy, said that contestants must be “women by birth”.
- This comes after the Netherlands crowned their first male born winner on July 8th
The Miss Italy beauty pageant does not allow transgender women to enter the pageant, organizers said.
Miss Italy patron Patrizia Mirigliani said contestants had to be “women by birth” and that the competition would not jump on the “glitzy bandwagon of trans activism”.
This comes after the Netherlands crowned its first male-born winner of a female beauty pageant, 22-year-old Rikkie Valerie Kollé, on July 8.
She added it was “a bit absurd” that beauty pageants would try to garner attention by including transgender contestants.
But Ms Mirigliani said she was happy for the Dutch competition if he wanted to include her.
Miss Italy Patron Patrizia Mirigliani (left, with Miss Italy 2022 winner Lavinia Abate, right) said contestants must be “women by birth” and the competition would not hop on the “glitter bandwagon of trans activism.”
This comes after the Netherlands crowned its first male-born winner of a female beauty pageant, 22-year-old Rikkie Valerie Kollé (pictured), on July 8.
“Since birth, my contest has included in its rules the clarification that one must be female by birth,” she told Radio Cusano.
“Probably because even then it was foreseen that beauty could undergo changes, that women could undergo changes, or that men could become women.”
She pointed out that women with tattoos, piercings and enhancements are allowed to compete in Miss Italy, but added “excesses” are not good.
Dutch winner Ms Kolle said becoming a woman was “not easy for everyone” and admitted she suffered a lot as a result.
She was so determined to be a girl that she changed her name from Rik to Rikkie at just 11 years old, convinced she was “born in the wrong body”.
But in her youth she was bullied every day for years and came home from school crying.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle looked confident as she beamed at the crowd as she became the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands
Ms. Kolle (pictured) was eight years old when her journey began, but she was 16 when she began the process of becoming a woman, which included taking female hormones
“I was born a little Rik, but I wanted to be a big Rikkie.” “The transition from man to woman has made me feel at home,” she said on her Instagram.
“I endured the teasing and went home crying. I would think, “Why me, why is this happening to me?” But I always had the support of my loving family and friends.”
Ms. Kolle was eight years old when her journey began, but she was 16 when she began the transformation into a woman, which included taking female hormones.
Then, in January of that year, she underwent gender confirmation surgery — something she described as “the day I became who I want to be.”