Portugal Crowns First Trans Miss Universe Candidate

Miss Universe Portugal has crowned its very first transgender queen and the second for this year's pageant.

In a controversial move on Thursday last week (October 12), the national franchise of the global pageant awarded 28-year-old Marina Machete, who was born male, with the title of Miss Portugal.

In her Instagram post, Machete said she was "proud to be the first trans woman to compete for the Miss Universe Portugal title."

"For many years I wasn't eligible to compete and now it's such an honor to be a part of this incredible group of candidates!" she added.

Backlash from Portuguese Society

However, not all were on board with having a transgender Miss Portugal.

According to Breitbart, comments from pageant fans to politicians began to pour in, expressing their disappointment to let a biologically male contestant compete and win a historically women's title.

"Don't they have women in that country?" one Instagram user wrote in Spanish.

"She is indeed a beautiful trans woman," another user wrote in Portuguese. "But this isn't about empathy, this is reality. Have a transgender contest, period. Worse are the women applauding because it's fashionable."

Conservative news site Blaze reported that "at least one" Portuguese politician "expressed a negative reaction to the result." Russian state-funded news outlet RT also reported that right-wing Portuguese lawmaker Rui Paulo Sousa said he originally thought of the news as a "joke."

"It is undoubtedly a sad day for those young women who dreamed about [winning] the female beauty pageant," the MP said. RT added in its report that Machete was a flight attendant prior to joining pageants. She first won the Miss Pamela competition in her hometown.

MIss U's Trans Trend

Machete would not be the only transgender Miss Universe competitor this year, which would take place in El Salvador this November.

Back in July, 22-year-old trans competitor Rikkie Valerie Kolle bested nine women to win the Miss Universe Netherlands crown.

"It's unreal but I get to call myself [Miss Netherlands] 2023," she wrote on Instagram. "Making my community proud and showing it can be done."

The popularity of transgender competitors joining Miss Universe began after the competition's acquisition by Thai transgender business mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip in 2022. Prior to this, Jakrajutatip began identifying as a woman in 2018.

"I became a billionaire at age 38, a woman at 39, and a mother of two at 40," the billionaire told Nola. "I believe in the power of women to transform into the best versions of themselves."

Not every country participating in Miss Universe agreed with the prospect of allowing transgender competitors on the national level.

Miss Universe Italy banned transgender contestants in response to Kolle's win in the Dutch version of the pageant. This prompted over 100 trans hopefuls to register nevertheless in protest.

"Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd," Miss Italy Official Patron Patrizia Mirigliani said on a radio show, according to Italian publication Il Primato Nazionale. "Miss Italia, on the other hand, will not jump on the glittery bandwagon of trans activism."

Last August, Miss Universe pulled the plug on its Indonesian franchise and its national director Poppy Capella over sexual harassment allegations.

Tags

Miss Universe, Portugal, Transgender, LGBTQ