Miss Universe’s first transgender contestant loves being role model

“I was born into a world, into a society which really wasn’t prepared for me. I had the support of my family, but I still faced discrimination, and I had no role models,” she said.

“So many children face discrimination for being different. It is important to tell them they have a right to be who they are, who they want to be,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation through an interpreter.

Prejudice

The pageant will take place as Thailand prepares to pass a landmark bill that would allow civil partnerships of same-sex couples, becoming the first Asian country to do so.

Taiwan’s constitutional court last year ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry, and set a two-year deadline for legalisation. But voters last month rejected a referendum on legalisation.

Ponce, 26, said she was shut out of several fashion competitions because she is transgender.

“When I won Miss Spain, I was so excited,” she said.

“As they were placing the crown, I just shut my eyes to take it in, because I knew it was a very significant moment.”

Also significantly, the pageant this year features its first all-woman selection panel, said a spokesperson for Miss Universe Organisation.

قالب وردپرس