Glitz and grit on display at world's top transgender pageant

Glitz and grit on display at world's top transgender pageant
First runner-up Ruethaipreeya Nuanglee of Thailand (left), winner Valentina Fluchaire of Mexico and second runner-up Ariella Moura of Brazil at the Miss International Queen contest in Thailand.
PHOTO: Instagram/ariellamoura

After her friends were killed in transphobic attacks in Brazil, Ariella Moura decided she wanted to make a statement against gender discrimination at the world's top transgender pageant in Thailand.

The annual Miss International Queen pageant brings together international contestants who are not only showcasing their beauty but also spreading a defiant message for equality across the globe.

On Saturday, the 2020 winner, Mexico's Valentina Fluchaire, was presented her sash and tiara by Jazell Barbie Royale of the United States, who took the prize in 2019.

For 22-year-old Moura, one of the night's finalists, the evening was about far more than performing well.'

"People are open-minded in Brazil for a lot of things, but it is a big country… and, for sexuality, people are discriminated [against] a lot. I know a lot of friends who were murdered," said Moura, who was crowned Miss Trans Brazil in 2019.

"I hope this [will] change," she added, decrying the transphobic and homophobic views of her country's far-right populist president Jair Bolsonaro.

Moura praised her parents for helping her through the stigma and practical difficulties of coming out as a teen. She said she was now ready to strut her stuff under the glittering lights of the pageant.

"I am very proud to be representing my country," she said.

The event has been held since 2004 in Pattaya, a resort town a few hours outside Bangkok that is notorious for its raucous nightlife and laissez-faire attitude to sex.

The city is home to thousands of transgender women - many working in the area's sex industry because of the stigma that curtails their employment and educational opportunities elsewhere in Thailand. Contestants say the pageant is a chance to challenge that discrimination.

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"Having a good attitude shows the people that don't like us that being a transgender person isn't a bad thing," says 22-year-old Thai contestant Ruethaipreeya Nuanglee, who was also a finalist in the night's competition. She was the 2019 winner of the Miss Tiffany's Universe pageant, which is an annual beauty contest for Thai transgender women.

"We can't make people like us. [But] I have a plan. I want be a spokesperson to push for a change of law for transgender people."

Pattaya has been hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic currently sweeping the globe, and tourist numbers have sharply dropped as visitors stay home.

Businesses have reported drops in revenue of up to 90 per cent as tourists defer their travel plans, leaving hotels empty and knick-knack stalls bereft of customers.

The pageant's contestants posed in ball gowns and face masks before the competition in support of public health measures to control the virus.

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