Miss Universe-Netherlands winner, Rikkie Valerie Kolle, achieved a significant milestone by being the first trans woman to win the aforementioned pageant. The 22-year-old has earned a place to compete in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant slated later this year, where she will be the second transgender woman to participate.
In light of her victory, she expressed sadness over learning that the Miss Italy pageant has decided to exclude transgender contestants this year. They have imposed a ban on the participation of trans women, which left many trans women as well as Kolle disappointed with their decision.
During an interview, a statement was made by pageant officials that contestants must be “women from birth.”
Miss Italy Official Patron Patrizia Mirigliani expressed, “Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd.”
“Since it was established, this competition has foreseen in its regulation this clarification that one must be a woman from birth. Even then, it was foreseen that beauty could undergo modifications, or that women could undergo modifications, or that men could become women,” Mirigliani said in an interview.
Miss Universe-Netherlands expressed her disappointment online. She wrote, “This is so sad,” on her Instagram stories while sharing a link to the news about Miss Italy. “Instead of moving forward, It seems that we are only moving further back.”
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