Miss Trans Global is an annual international pageant for transgender women. It claims to be the biggest international advocacy pageant for transgender women. The event broadcasts live on multiple social networking websites from London, England. It has gained traction for transgender advocacy, raising awareness about queer culture and LGBT concerns, particularly in countries where transphobia and homophobia are prevalent. The pageant presents itself as a safe space for transgender women to share their lived experiences through speeches, talent shows, and art.
Mela Habijan of the Philippines won the first edition of Miss Trans Global in an event held virtually on September 12, 2020. Sruthy Sithara of India won the second edition where she was the first Indian transgender woman to win an international transgender pageant. The current winner is Natasha Cardoso of Brazil, winning the title on the 31st of November, 2022, in a digital event.
History
The pageant was founded by Miss Sahhara, a transgender activist, and beauty queen who was behind Queen of Nations, another pageant for transgender women which has been held in the United Kingdom for the past 13 years. According to Sahhara, she and her team thought of holding the 10th edition of Queen of Nations in 2017 online. Instead, they decided to launch a new title which is mainly geared towards transgender advocacy, education, and trans-empowerment through multiple digital platforms. They aimed to create an inclusive and accessible space for all transgender women from diverse backgrounds to express themselves on an international stage without leaving their homes or country.
According to Miss Sahhara, "Miss Trans Global was conceived in 2017 but realized during isolation in 2020. Our communities around the world are often either stuck at home with transphobic family members or homeless due to family rejection. Many of us are misunderstood at home and marginalized in society. Also, we have limited earning opportunities. So, we decided to help address some of these issues by engaging our online global community through the Miss Trans Global Digital Pageant".
The organizing team includes Sally Adams, a media and entertainment lawyer, Rica Paras, an information technology professional, and Imanni Da Silva, a model, artist, television presenter, and social activist.
The exclusion of transgender contestants in pageantry
In 2019, transgender pageant winner Anita Green filed a suit against Miss United States LLC on the grounds of gender identity discrimination. Green entered a franchise of Miss United States after participating in Miss Earth United States, but was refused entry because of the competition rule which states that only a 'natural born female''' is allowed to participate. A federal court dismissed Green's discrimination case against the pageant.
The court filing submitted by Miss United States constantly misgendered Green and used derogatory words to invalidate the complainant's gender identity. Miss United States also claims that allowing transgender women to compete in their competition would "undermine its vision" and would undermine their "message of biological female empowerment." John T. Kaempf, the Miss United States pageant's lawyer praised the dismissal of Green's lawsuit, stating that the pageant "is not anti-transgender." "Miss United States wants to be able to hold a pageant that is only for biological females,". He stated that the organisation "believes there can be a Miss Black USA pageant, a Miss Native American pageant, or a transgender pageant."
In an interview with KGW, Green said, "I compete in pageantry to show that there are many different types of beauty... To me, that rule was saying that transgender women aren't women, and that sends a very harmful message."
Unperturbed by the news of the dismissal of her case, Green said “she is not giving up on her fight for justice for transgender women, and she is very proud of her achievement in raising awareness about the discrimination transgender women face in pageantry”. "This case brought awareness to an issue many people were and still are unaware of," Green told Oregon Live, "and that issue is that discrimination against transgender people is still actively happening in the private and public sector even within the pageant circuit."
The exclusion of transgender women from female only spaces
Some transgender activists have affirmed that the exclusion of transgender women from female-only spaces such as sports, pageants, and bathrooms has necessitated the creation of dedicated spaces for transgender people. Others argue that it may foster segregation.