Miss Trans Global
Miss Trans Global is an annual international pageant for transgender activist queens from different countries around the world. It claims to be the biggest international digital competition for transgender women which broadcast live on multiple social networking websites from London, United Kingdom. The event has gained traction for transgender advocacy and raising awareness about queer culture and LGBT concerns, particularly in countries where Transphobia and Homophobia are prevalent. The pageant sees itself as a safe space for transgender women to share their lived experiences through speeches, talent shows, and art through its virtual platforms. The current Miss  Trans Global is Sruthy Sithara of India. She is the first Indian transgender woman to win an international transgender pageant. Mela Habijan from the Philippines, won the first edition of Miss Trans Global in an event held virtually on September 12, 2020. History. The pageant was founded by Miss Sahhara, a transgender activist, and a beauty queen who was behind Queen of Nations, another pageant for transgender women that has been held in the United Kingdom for the past 13 years. According to her, on the 10th edition of Queen of Nations in 2017, she and her team thought of  holding it online, instead of a physical staged pageant, but decided to launch a new title which is mainly geared towards transgender advocacy, education, and trans-empowerment through multiple digital platforms.They decided to create an inclusive and accessible space for all transgender women of all ages, race and body sizes from diverse backgrounds to express themselves on international stage without leaving the comfort of their homes or country. According to the organisation's founder and executive producer Miss Sahhara, "“Miss Trans Global was conceived in 2017 but realised 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 marginalised 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 organising 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 a social activist. Relevance of transgender pageantry. Many people have argued that beauty pageants are no more relevant in  our society today, as such, transgender women should not have dedicated pageants because some workplace and Miss Universe are inclusive of all LGBTIQ people. Recent court cases and the exclusion of transgender women from female only spaces around the world supports the creation of transgender focused spaces to help raise awareness about the plight of transgender people worldwide. A recent court case brought by Anita Green, a transgender pageant winner, in the United States highlighted this notion, where the federal court dismissed a discrimination case against Miss United States Beauty pageant which is not affiliated with Miss USA. Green entered  a franchise of Miss United States after participating in Miss Earth United States, but was refused entry into the national pageant because of the competition rule which states that only "'natural born female"' are allowed to participate. "“I compete in pageantry to show that there are many different types of beauty,”" Anita Green said in an interview with KGW. "“To me, that rule was saying that transgender women aren't women, and that sends a very harmful message.”" In the court filling, Miss United States' lawyer constantly misgendered Green and used derogatory words to invalidate the complainant's gender identity  “a man who identifies as a woman” and “"biological male who identifies as female”" hateful tropes commonly used to demean transgender people. Miss United States Beauty Pageant also claims that allowing transgender women in their competition "“undermine its vision”" and degrading for cisgender women “message of biological female empowerment.” John T. Kaempf, the Miss United States pageant's lawyer praised the dismissal of Greene's suit 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 said the organisation “believes there can be a  Miss Black USA pageant, a Miss Native American pageant, or a transgender pageant.” 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 trans women from female only spaces. Some transgender activists have affirmed that the exclusion of transgender women from female only spaces such as sports, pageants, toilets, and many more has made the need for creation of dedicated spaces for transgender people more needed than ever. They argue that, if society was more inclusive in all aspects of humanity, transgender people won need to create their own. But others may argue that it may foster segregation, as sociologist and feminist campaigner, Finn Mackay stated in an interview with The Guardian, they stated that there is space to bridge  the wide gap between transgender people and radical feminists, who are against transgender women's inclusion in female only spaces. Since Lesbians who do not conform to gender norms face the same exclusion transgender women face. Reducing womanhood to fertility and genitals trivialises the damage done by patriarchy influenced by politics when it comes to sexuality and gender. "“They do it for ideological reasons, as part of a campaign for trans exclusion. When people turn round and say: ‘This is a dog whistle’ – of course it is! Otherwise, why would you be chatting about people’s genitals?"” Mackay asked. There  is space for womanhood to be inclusive of people who are transgender, queer, indigenous, black/brown, sex workers and cisgender people. Recent success. Miss USA which is a franchise of Miss Universe is an inclusive pageant which started allowing transgender women in their pageant since 2012, made history as it now has their first transgender state representative, Miss Nevada USA, Kataluna Enriquez who happens to be one of the judges in the first edition of Miss Trans Global. "“It’s a huge honor to win, especially during Pride Month, I wasn’t nervous. I knew that I had worked really  hard and I had my one shot at making history.”" Enriquez told Las Vegas Review-Journal. ""My journey to self love was never easy,"" she wrote in one post. ""At a young age, I had to learn to live in the shadows to survive. I lived two separate lives. I was beaten, physically & sexually assaulted, refused basic human rights, bullied and even prayed many nights to never wake up. I was shown the lowest so I can learn to reach my highest. But it was never the destination that kept me thriving, it was the journey to self love,"" Kataluna  Enriquez wrote on her Social media page. Its Not just about beauty. The organisers claim it is not about beauty but adhere to strict beauty pageant rules of parading women on stage albeit virtual stage for judges and audience in turn get rewarded for her effort. Many women's rights have argued that beauty pageants are derogatory to women and should not exist in 21st century. Some of the participants asserted that pageants gives them a platform to highlight their activism, their talents and build their confidence on a global stage. Their advocacies are heavily influenced by the overwhelming high  number of various types of violence, including domestic violence, discrimination, and the murders of transgender women globally. Most recently, Miss Trans Global's team friend and beauty queen, Yunieski Carey Herrera was murdered by her partner in Miami, United States. Advocacy. According to the organisation, the top 5 winners of Miss Trans Global work as spokespersons on transgender and LGBT issues worldwide. They claim to work closely with activist organisations such as TransValid, TransBeauty Magazine, TransGriot, and many more allies to educate cisgender people and inspire transgender people globally. The organisation started an initiative called 'For Trans Women by Trans  Women', where a group of transgender women from different countries come together to raise awareness about issues that desperately affects their local communities. The organisers said, Miss Trans Global "“is not about a beautiful face and perfect body”" but rather “"about activism, charity, and intelligence”." "“We hope to use this opportunity to raise awareness for transgender women suffering worldwide who are struggling to survive in these difficult times of COVID-19 due to family rejections, homelessness, lack of jobs and earning opportunities.”" The pageant says their winners will serve as a spokesperson “and work digitally to influence positive changes in our  community internationally.” The pageant considers itself as a digital and physical space for transgender women from different backgrounds who are driven through activism to highlight the plight of LGBT people in their various countries. The participants share their lived experiences through the use of digital content production and publishing through the guidance of the organisation. How the winners are picked. On its website, the London-based competition described itself as "“the future of international trans pageantry"'', because of its accessibility and ease of participation. The contestants execute their various tasks at the comfort of their various home countries without the  need to travel to the United Kingdom. Each contestant produce and submit various videos in accordance to the rules and guidance stipulated by the pageant directors, the judges then review their performances and scores the contestants accordingly. The winners are selected based on the scores given by the judges. The judges. The judges are seasoned transgender female activists and pageant queens who have fought for transgender rights in their various countries. The titles and awards. Miss Trans Global and its runner-up awards are the adaption of the female British nobility titles, namely: They award titles based on how well  the contestants performed during the competition. They said the contestants are set creative challenges every week in a bid to showcase their wits, charisma, and talent to help the judges pick the top 5 winners. The organisation's definition of a queen is a transgender woman who uses their voice for the voiceless and someone who marries the ambition of helping marginalised transgender community that are often discriminated against due to misconceptions. Since it is a digital competition, it questionable how the contestant will enjoy the experiences of being in staged competitions, because it lacks the sense of adventure most  pageant candidates crave in an international beauty pageant competitions, such sightseeing, a chance to travel, witness and learn about new cultures in the host countries. The inaugural event. The inaugural competition which took place on September 12, 2020, focused on transgender people suffering in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It included participants from Australia, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, United States, Uruguay and so many more. Miss Mela Franco Habijan from the Philippines became the first ever winner of the competition, in a coronation ceremony streamed live on YouTube and Facebook. The pageant's inaugural Judges were Monica Roberts  a notable transgender rights advocate and journalist in the United States who passed away in September, 2020, flight attendant, beauty queen, and transgender rights advocate Candi Stratton, CliniQ Counselling and Wellbeing founder-director, Michelle Ross, Miss Nevada USA and fashion designer, Kataluna Enriquez, Miss Trans Star International executive director, Victoria Maxima Caram; and Friends in Diaspora for Friends in Africa founder, Amanda Uzoma McQueens.