A Danish model was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday, but following Miss Universe's decision to allow transgender women to take part, avid viewers of the famous pageant were left wondering if the winner would be biological. Celebrating being a woman on top.
21-year-old Victoria Kjaer Teilvig won the 73rd Miss Universe final in Mexico City. The model beat out 120 other contestants in the 2023 more traditional competition, which featured plus-size women, married women and transgender women.
Last year, a transgender woman from Portugal made it into the top 20. Months before the 2023 competition, 22-year-old Ricky Valerie Kore became the first transgender Miss Netherlands.
The contest was bought by Thai media mogul Ang Jakapong Jakrajtatip, a transgender woman and passionate supporter of transgender rights, so many fans thought it was a further departure from the contest's norm. I was looking forward to this year.
“But let's not overlook the reality here. Beauty pageants used to be a celebration of grace, poise, and, yes, natural femininity. But today, healthy, traditionally beautiful women It seems like the mere concept of taking on a role has become something of a cultural shock. It's a strange world when the norm becomes the exception, right?” one user commented on X.
Instead, a biological woman was named the winner, leaving baffled fans sarcastically gloating on the internet.
“Yes, an actual biological white woman won the contest. The world is healing,” one user posted on X.
“Oh, look! A woman won Miss Universe this year!” another X user commented.
Tesla boss Elon Musk also joked about the contest, posting a meme without a caption.
“BREAKING NEWS: An attractive biological human woman of a healthy weight wins the Miss Universe pageant and the internet is stunned,” the photo reads.
Last year, the competition revised its guidelines to promote “social inclusion”, removing age restrictions and making it easier for women from non-traditional backgrounds to participate. The move sparked a massive backlash and even saw a former Miss Universe winner resign from the title in protest.
In 2018, Spain's Angela Ponce became the first transgender person to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. Last year, pageant executives found themselves in a bind after conversations about how women from non-traditional backgrounds “cannot” win beauty pageants.
“Trans women, women with husbands, divorced women…this is a communication strategy, because, you know, they can compete, but they can't win. We just announced the policy. It's social inclusion, as people say,'' Jakrajutatip said in the leaked video.
