Miss Universe organizers have supported transgender women in their glittering competition – as Miss America has tightened the rules to comply with guidelines.
World-renowned beauty pageant bosses say, “Trans women are women, period,” and then add that you have to have “gender-confirming surgery” to compete.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, won the Miss Netherlands title and will become the second transgender woman to appear at Miss Universe.
Becoming the first trans woman to win the Dutch title, Kolle thanked her “haters” for giving her a “bigger platform” for her win.
Transgender billionaire Anne Jakrajutatip, 43, took over the Miss Universe organization in October last year.
World-renowned beauty pageant bosses say, “Trans women are women, period,” and then add that you have to have “gender-confirming surgery” to compete. 22-year-old transgender Rikkie Valerie Kolle recently won the title of Miss Netherlands
Transgender billionaire Anne Jakrajutatip, 43, took over the Miss Universe organization in October last year.
She has made many sweeping changes to the competition, removing the most photogenic and best swimwear awards and championing women’s empowerment.
Both Miss Universe and Miss America admit transgender contestants but require them to have undergone gender-confirming surgery.
The Miss America pageant changed the rules for its contestants for the 2024 season, stating that individuals must identify as “born female” or have “fully completed sex reassignment surgery.”
Previously, the beauty pageant was open to anyone who identified only as a “woman”. Monroe Lace, winner of the title Miss San Francisco, reached the semifinals of the Miss California pageant last week.
Miss Universe has allowed trans women to compete for more than a decade and recently opened the contest to married and divorced women as well.
A Miss Universe spokeswoman told : “Miss Universe is open to all contestants, and that includes trans women.”
“Trans women are women, period. We’re here to celebrate women, period. Our policy for more than a decade has required trans women contestants to undergo gender confirmation surgery, and indeed, five years ago, a trans woman delegate walked the Miss Universe stage.
“The Miss Universe organization is constantly evolving and we are constantly updating our entry requirements – for the past two years we have allowed entry to married women, divorced women, pregnant women and women with children.”
Anne Jakrajutatip transitioned from male to female in her mid-30s, marking the end of 70 years of men running the beauty pageant.
The billionaire Thai media mogul bought the rights to Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for $20 million. The festival system was previously owned by former US President Donald Trump
Becoming the first trans woman to win the Dutch title, Kolle thanked her “haters” for giving her a “bigger platform” for her victory
Namibia, Cameroon and Mauritius all announced their winners for the competition. Miss Universe said they “welcome diversity in all forms,” despite opposition to gender-sensitive grooming in countries
Transgender Monroe Lace holds the title of Miss San Francisco and reached the semifinals of the Miss California pageant last week
The billionaire Thai media mogul bought the rights to Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for $20 million. The festival system was previously owned by former US President Donald Trump.
The model CEO faced bullying at her all-male school, became an activist icon in Thailand and founded the Life Inspired for Transsexual Foundation (LIFT) charity, which campaigns for transgender rights.
She has received multiple awards, including winning the 2019 Asian Media Woman of the Year award, and was named to the 2020 Forbes list of the world’s richest transgender people.
Jakrajutatip described the pageant as “No. 1 Beauty Olympiad in the World,” but added that the system is “not just about beauty, it’s about the iconic woman — beauty, brains and leadership.”
also reached out to the Miss World pageant, which was previously criticized for only allowing unmarried women with no children to enter, regarding its guidelines, but received no response.
Miss World was created in 1951 by Eric Morley, who became known as “Mr World” after founding the famous pageant. Since his death in 2000, Morley’s widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the event.
Miss Universe Mauritius Nilmani Devi Hurlall will take the stage of the Miss Universe pageant along with transgender Miss Netherlands
Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, Fred Mouawad, Harnaaz Sandhu, Paula Shugart and Amy Emmerich pose with Miss Universe delegates in January 2023
Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip (pictured in November 2022) acquired the Miss Universe system last year, becoming the first woman to fully own the beauty pageant organization
According to their website, they have competitors – other than those who compete in the Miss Universe pageant – from Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
Many have strict transgender laws and members of the LGBTQ+ community are often persecuted, but it’s not clear what Miss World’s policies are regarding transgender competitors.
They are notoriously strict on women having children and getting married, and Miss Ukraine sued the organization after she was stripped of her title.
Veronika Didusenko, 27, was banned from participating in the Miss World final and replaced by another candidate.
The model took legal action against London-based Miss World, claiming the organizers had breached the Equalities Act 2010 and taking her case to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
She called on them to force organizers to change their “outdated” entry criteria to adapt them to the modern world and called for a judicial review.
However, the commission said it did not believe this matter would “advance its strategic priority objectives” and told it the case was “atypical” and only affected a “very small number of women”.
To enter the Miss World pageant, contestants must be single, have no children, be between the ages of 17 and 27 and reside in the country they represent.
Anne Jakrajutatip speaks during the 71st Miss Universe pageant at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center on January 14, 2023
Ms Kolle is pictured with R’Bonney Gabriel from the USA who won Miss Universe 2022
While Miss Universe supports transgender women, there are also a number of competing countries where transitioning or entering into a same-sex relationship is still considered illegal.
Egypt, Bangladesh and Guyana will return to the scene despite their notoriously tough laws on the LGBTQ+ community.
Currently, Namibia, Cameroon and Mauritius have all announced their winners for the competition. Miss Universe said they “welcome diversity in all forms,” despite opposition to gender-sensitive grooming in countries.
They said: “The Miss Universe pageant embraces diversity in all forms and this contestant’s victory is a prime example of the appreciation of diversity and inclusion at all levels of society.”
“We recognize that different countries are at different stages of adoption, and we adhere to each country’s policies and laws.”
“However, we remain committed to using our platform and global reach to raise awareness, enlighten, and push for acceptance and change wherever we can.”
“Our own Anne Jakrarutatip is currently advocating for Thailand to change its policies to allow government ID cards to match gender identity.”
Veronika Didushenko took legal action against London-based Miss World, claiming that the organizers had breached the Equalities Act 2010 and taking her case to the Equality and Human Rights Commission
19-year-old college student Brían Nguyen poses with other local Miss America contestants after her landmark win. The aspiring model is the first transgender woman to win a local title
Brian was pictured on stage shortly after being crowned Miss Greater Derry. The New Hampshire-based student said there were “no words” to explain how much the win meant to her
“We welcome any delegate who meets our admission criteria, but it is up to each individual delegate and their national director to decide whether or not to comply with any conflicting national laws.”
Last year, Miss New Hampshire Brian Nguyen became the first transgender woman to win a local Miss America pageant.
The annual pageant features a woman from each US state who demonstrates a range of skills including leadership, balance and artistic talent.
The winner, determined by a panel of judges, will receive the title of Miss America and a stipend of at least $50,000.
As the defending champion, she then embarks on a year-long national tour to advocate for a social issue of her choosing.
Miss Great Britain 1998 winner Leilani Dowding had previously said she was disappointed that Nguyen won the crown ahead of other candidates.