Rikkie Kollé, 22, was crowned as the first trans woman to win the title of Miss Netherlands. She will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador later this year.
"I DID IT !!!!!" she wrote on Instagram. "Yes I'm trans and I want to share my story but I'm also Rikkie and that's what matters to me. And wherever you are in the world, I want to be there for you and be the example that I missed as a little me."
Last year, trans activist Anne Jakrajutatip, who is also transgender, bought the Miss Universe Organization.
"I don't call Miss Universe a beauty pageant anymore," she told Metro Weekly. "I call it a women's empowerment competition."
From NPR:
Kollé won't be the first trans woman to compete for the Miss Universe crown. Angela Ponce became the pageant's first out trans contestant when she represented Spain in 2018. The 71-year-old competition first began allowing transgender contestants in 2012.
More trans women have been competing in the preliminary pageants in recent years. In 2021, former Miss Nevada Kataluna Enriquez became the first trans contestant in a Miss USA pageant. Trans woman and activist Daniela Arroyo González will compete for this year's Miss Universe Puerto Rico title next month.
