Miss Portugal was won by transgender woman Marina Machete. So the International Miss Universe will have at least two trans contestants
November's 72nd edition of the international Miss Universe pageant will have at least two transgender participants. After Riikie Kollé, who won Miss Netherlands in June, the newly elected Portuguese Miss Marina Machete will also compete for the crown.
Machete is the first trans woman to win Miss Portugal. She is from Palmela in the Setúbal region, but lives in Lisbon and works as a flight attendant. "As a trans woman, I have faced many obstacles on my journey," she said in a video introducing herself as a contestant in the Portuguese pageant. "But fortunately, and especially in my family, love has proven to be stronger than ignorance."
The transgender theme was the subject of most of her short speech. "I've been a flight attendant for five years and it's been a transformative experience for me. Not only have I literally broadened my horizons, but I've also seen how society treats trans people in different countries around the world."
"[Trans identity] is unfortunately a big topic in society lately. The growing amount of transphobia and lack of tolerance in the world is alarming. It warms my heart to see Miss Universe being so inclusive and breaking down boundaries and not only creating a platform for women that empowers them, but also contributing to change in individual societies."
Trans and Miss Universe
But it wasn't that long ago that Miss Universe didn't have such a good reputation when it came to its approach to trans people. She has even banned trans women from participating before. The case of Canadian Jenny Talackova, who was threatened by the organisers with disqualification from the pageant because she had undergone a surgical transition in violation of the pageant rules, resonated with the public. Eventually, however, the organisation lifted the ban in 2012.
A drastic change then came last year when the brand and the entire Miss Universe organisation was bought for $20 million by Thai media mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip. She is a long-time campaigner for trans rights and has also spoken publicly about her own life experiences as a trans woman.
"Trans women are women, period. We are here to celebrate women, period. That's been true for over a decade and we're proud to have made this change very early compared to other programs," the organization told CNN.
