Following the participation of two transgender women in Miss Universe last year, this year a transgender woman has made it to the finals of Miss Universe Singapore (MUS).
According to reports from Singapore media outlets such as The Straits Times on the 2nd (local time), 15 contestants made it to the finals of this year’s Miss Universe Singapore pageant. The winner of this pageant will represent Singapore at Miss Universe 2024, which will be held in Mexico City, Mexico in November.
Among the 15 finalists is Katrisha Zairia, a 33-year-old married transgender woman who is the first to be included in the 70-year history of the competition. Zairia underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2017 and married her military buddy from her 20s in 2018.
Originally, this competition was only open to women aged 18-28 who were single or had no history of divorce, but starting with this competition, married, divorced, and women with children were also eligible to participate. Accordingly, the finalists this time included women of a wide age range, from 18-34, including transgender women and women with children.
“I am prepared to face criticism because I know not everyone can accept people like us,” Zairia told The Straits Times. She also thanked her husband, saying, “He has been with me throughout my transition from a boy to a woman.”
“I deserve to be the winner. How cool would it be to be the first transgender woman to represent Singapore on the world stage? I could be the first person to represent Asia,” he said confidently.
Miss Universe has been accepting transgender contestants since 2012. The first transgender contestant was Spain’s Angela Ponce in 2018.
Zairia cited Angela as a role model, saying, “I cried when I saw Angela on stage representing a transgender woman. She was an inspiration and paved the way for more transgender women to have the courage to compete.”
Reporter Song Chi-hoon, Donga.com [email protected]
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2024-09-04 00:06:36