A young transgender woman won the “Miss Portugal” contest for the first time today and will compete together with another transgender woman, representing the Netherlands, for the title of “Miss Universe 2023” in El Salvador, the organizers reported.
This is Marina Machete, a 28-year-old stewardess, who won the title in Borba, a Portuguese town, located in the southeastern region of the Evora district, reported the ANSA news agency.
“Proud to be the first trans woman to compete for the title of Miss Universe Portugal,” the winner wrote on social media. “For years I was unable to participate, and today I am proud to be part of this incredible group of finalists,” she added.
“As a transgender woman I had to overcome many obstacles that I encountered along the way. Fortunately, and especially now, together with my family, love proved to be stronger than ignorance,” the representative of Portugal also stated in a video from the YouTube platform, available on the “Miss Queen Portugal” channel.
Already last July, the Dutch Rikkie Kolle, a 22-year-old trans model and Dutch beauty queen, known for participating in several modeling contests in her country, had become the first transgender woman to obtain the title of “Miss Countries.” Low”.
Both competitors, Machete and Kolle, will thus succeed the Spanish Angela Ponce, who became the “first transgender candidate for the Miss Universe title in 2018, at 27 years of age.”
In September 2023, the organization of the “Miss Universe” pageant announced the elimination of the age limit to compete for the crown. Previously “only women between 18 and 28 years old could participate.”
Starting in 2024, women aged 18 and over will be able to participate in the competition, founded in 1952. The measure follows last year’s announcement, which allowed the participation of “married, pregnant, mothers and transsexual” women.
In October 2022, it was announced that JKN, a Thai-owned content and media conglomerate, acquired the company “Miss Universe Organization” from the talent agency IMG.
With this acquisition, Thai Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, 44, became president of the event, also remaining executive director of JKN Global Group.
In this way, the Thai businesswoman became “the first transsexual woman in history” to own the “Miss Universe Organization” in charge of the annual international beauty pageant.
Source: Ambito
