Today, Miss Universe Spain has created history by crowning 26-year-old Angela Ponce, the first ever transgender woman to represent the country at this year’s beauty pageant, surpassing 22 other female contestants.
Naturally, the announcement sent social media into a frenzy, as Angela is the only woman, born male to win the coveted title — and it’s happening during the LGBT community’s celebration of Pride Month!
After being crowned Miss Universe Spain, she thanked those who supported her and voiced her commitment to promoting equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Bringing the name and colours of Spain before the universe is my great dream. My goal is to be a spokesperson for a message of inclusion, respect and diversity not only for the LGBTQ+ community but also for the entire world.”
In case you’re wondering — Yes, transgenders have been eligible to participate in Miss Universe for the past six years, although nobody succeeded to get through the prestigious final round, until now.
The change of rule comes after trans contestant Jenna Talackova (who was disqualified from Miss Universe Canada 2012 after organisers discovered she had transitioned from male to female) filed a legal challenge, which prompted the organisation to embrace diversity and finally ended a ban on non-cisgender contestants competing.
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The beauty queen who is 5ft 9in tall, revealed that she identified as a woman at the age of three, and first began to explore her gender identity when she turned 11-years-old. Her final transition was completed in April 2014.
However, this is not the first for Angela, since the Seville-born model had already taken part in the country’s Miss World Spain beauty pageant back in 2015, but failed to nab the winner’s crown.
While a lot of viewers were thrilled to discover the news, there were also those who sympathised with other cisgender contestants who lost to Angela Ponce, and protested to let the trans model join the worldwide competition.
Hmm, do you agree with the comments above, or do you think that it’s a pretty good move for Miss Universe to finally give trans women a chance? Let us know 🙂
The newly-crowned beauty queen will be competing in the worldwide Miss Universe contest, which is set to be held in the Philippines this December, so don’t miss out!
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