Black Beauty Reigns Over Us All

2019 has been been a historic year in the pageant world, and one we won't forget for a long time.

In 2019 all six of the major pageants, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, Miss America, Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International Queen all crowned Black women as their pageant royalty

The Miss International Queen one based in Thailand is a pageant for transgender women.  Harvey was its first ever African descended winner in their 15 year history.

So congrats to Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa,  Miss World 2019 Toni- Ann Singh of Jamaica, Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaleigh Garris and Miss International Queen 2019 Jazell Harvey

And two of the women won with natural hair styles in Miss Universe and Miss Tenn USA.

Congrats to all these Black women who have made this a historic year in pageantry and one that has been a long time in coming.

It also drives home the point that Black women are indeed beautiful in all their marvelous shades.

Correction: Four Black Women Have Won Major Beauty Pageants In 2019

Been seeing the memes out there that have proudly pointed out that with only the Miss Universe pageant left to be conducted,  Black women in the US have won in succession the Miss Teen USA, Miss America and the Miss USA Universe pageants for the first time ever in the same calendar year.

Major props to 2019 Miss Teen USA winner Kaleigh Garris, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin and Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst for doing so.   They are all accomplished women and I'm exceedingly proud of all of them snatching crowns in the same calendar year.

Even more impressive, Miss Teen USA Kaleigh Garris did so while rocking a natural hair style.

But people are forgetting the fourth Black woman who also made history by winning a major beauty pageant title this year, and she did so back in March.

Jazell Barbie Royale became the first Black women to ever win the Miss International Queen trans pageant in Thailand.  Her accomplishment was just as historic as the pother women being celebrated, but once again when it comes to Black Trans excellence, the Black community sadly is ignoring it.

Let me repeat for y'all that Black trans women ARE Black women.   When we rise and excel at doing whatever we accomplish, so does the entire Black community.

So what if the Miss International Queen is a pageant for trans women?   No Black woman from the African Diaspora had ever won that pageant in its fifteen year history until this year, and it had been 2005 since the last American woman had won it.

So yes, I would like to see it acknowledged that FOUR Black women have won major pageant titles in the same year.   If no one else will acknowledge that fact, I damned sure will. 

The New Miss International Queen Winner Is Black!

“I want them to see that we are beautiful, we are educated, we are talented and we can maneuver in society just like everyone else.”-Jazell Barbie Royale, MIQ 19 

I guess the Miss International Queen Pageantry system peeps have been reading my posts blasting their long history of anti-Blackness and never having a Black winner of it.

History was made in Pattaya last night just in time for International Women's Day as 31 year old Jazell Barbie Royale became the first ever Black winner of the Miss International Queen trans beauty pageant.

In addition to her becoming the first ever Black winner of MIQ in its 15 plus year history, she also became the first American to snatch this crown since Mimi Marks did so in 2005.

Like Mimi Marks, she is also a Miss Continental pageant titleholder, having won that title in 2016

First runner up was Kanwara Kaewijn from Thailand (another Miss Tiffany's pageant winner) and second runner up was Yaya from China

When she's not competing, the Florida native is an HIV advocate, and said in an interview that what she would like to do if she won is become a trans advocate, especially to those not well educated about trans issues.

She also noted the pageant being devoid of Black contestants, as I have pointed out more than a few times over the years as the perceived anti-Blackness has discouraged Black trans contestants around the globe from even attempting to compete in it.

"There is no one else in the pageant that has won that looks like me, there is no one in the pageant that looks like me. I would be able to inspire so many other people out there,” she said in a Travel News Asia interview .

Well, the Miss International Queen Pageant FINALLY has a Black queen.   Still isn't going to stop me from calling out the other problematic elements of the pageant.

But this is a nice start.   Congratulations Jazell for making history and becoming Miss International Queen..   May you be just the beginning of more Black trans women from around the world who capture this title

  .   

Will The Miss International Queen Pageant Finally Get A Black Queen?

'The anti-Black, pro-Asian and pro Miss Tiffany showgirl bias has got to end in order for the Miss International Queen trans pageant to have international credibility with people around the world who are thinking about competing in it.'
-TransGriot, March 2, 2018 

Since 2004 the Thailand based Miss International Queen pageant has billed itself as the most prestigious transgender beauty pageant on the planet.   It has grown to that status in large part because until recently, trans women were barred from participating in the major pageants systems like Miss World and Miss Universe.

The 2019 edition of the Miss International Queen pageant will be crowning its newest queen in Pattaya on March 8 (March 7 our time). 

It also has a dubious distinction that smacks of anti-Blackness..  In the decade plus history of the MIQ pageant, it has NEVER crowned a Black winner.

Two have been first runner up (2011, Miss SaHHara, 2015, Valesca Dominik Ferraz).  Stasha Sanchez finished as a second runner up in 2010.

There are peeps, myself included, who still believe Miss SaHHara was robbed of the 2011 MIQ title. The Thai contestant, Sirapassorn Atthayakorn horribly botched her final interview, but STILL shockingly won.

Then again it shouldn't have been a shock, since she like all four Thai MIQ queens, she won the Miss Tiffany's pageant.   Tiffany's Cabaret in Pattaya is the host venue for that Thai trans only Miss Tiffany's pageant that produces the Thai rep to MIQ and the Miss International Queen one.

This history of shady MIQ anti-Blackness and favoritism for Miss Tiffany Cabaret showgirls has discouraged many Black trans contestants from even plunking down their hard earned money for entry fees and attempting to make that long trip to Thailand to attempt to snatch that crown.

That shady treatment of Black MIQ contestants is a major reason why I stopped writing posts about this pageant as well.

This year Jazell Barbie Royale is the lone African descended contestant in this 2019 Miss International Queen event.   She captured the 2016 Miss Continental title, and is attempting to break that negative MIQ cycle, rep the USA and make some history as its first ever Black winner. 

If she does so, she would also become the first American winner since 2005 when Mimi Marks took the MIQ crown.



Wishing you the best of luck, Jazell.

We'll see if Jazell does so, or is just the latest Black contestant to fall victim to the anti-Blackness permeating the Miss International Queen pageant system.

MIQ 2016 Runner Up Competes In 2019 Miss Rio Pageant

The date and site for the 2019 Miss Universe pageant has yet to be determined, but Angela Ponce's historic trip to Bangkok to compete in Miss Universe has inspired other trans pageant beauties around the globe to try to make pageant history in their own nations.

One of those is in Brazil.

25 year old Nathalie Oliveira is starting her quest to be on the 2019 Miss Universe stage by competing in the Miss Rio de Janeiro pageant that takes place this weekend on January 26. 

It is a preliminary for the Miss Brazil Universe pageant that will take place later this year, and she is the first out Brazilian trans woman who has ever entered this regional pageant.

Oliveira was the winner of the Miss Trans Brazil pageant, and was the first runner up in the 2016 Thailand based Miss International Queen contest.     She also has a YouTube channel with over 15,000 subscribers that covers topics that include makeup, travel, and transsexuality

Good luck to Nathy!  Here's hoping she gets a step closer to being on the 2019 Miss Universe stage

The Miss International Queen Pageant STILL Has An Anti-Blackness Problem

"I said this on the MIQ FB page and I will repeat it   If the Miss International Queen Pageant is going to claim it's an international trans pageant and wants to have ANY international credibility in the trans pageant world as a fair pageant, from this point forward it is imperative that an international panel of judges be assembled to determine the winner and make sure that any Thai judges that are part of the panel have no ties to Tiffany's show or are severely limited."-TransGriot, November 4, 2011 


Another edition of the Miss International Queen Pageant has kicked off in the Thai resort city of Pattaya and I predict that when the pageant has concluded on March 9 Thai time, a trans girl with dark skin will NOT be the winner of it.

Since the pageant started in 2004. no trans woman with African heritage or dark skin has won this pageant. 

The few times this has come close to happening or an African descended trans women has even placed in the MIQ event top three was in 2010, when the USA's Stasha Sanchez finished as the second runner up, 2011 when Miss SaHHara repping Nigeria finished as the first runner up (and should have won it), and in 2015 when Brazil's Valesca Dominik Ferraz also finished as a first runner up.

The 2011 MIQ pageant was the most controversial one.   Miss SaHHara, representing Nigeria, was presumed by many people, especially after the Thai finalist horribly botched her final interview to be the person that would finally make that history. 

But people in Thailand watching on live TV, in the Tiffany's Theater in Pattaya and around the world on the online feed were shocked when the Thai contestant still won despite blowing the interview. 

That ignited a firestorm of criticism and gave credibility to the allegations brought by Thai and Philippine contestants there was not only an anti-Black bias from the all-Thai judging panel, but an anti-Filipina one as well..

In 2015 Brazilian beauty Valesca Dominik Ferraz almost broke the color line in this pageant, but just as Miss SaHHara had done four years earlier, she wound up as the first runner up to Trixie Maristela of the Philippines. 

What I wrote back in 2011 when I blasted the Miss International Queen pageant about that shady 2011 result is sadly still valid today.   Out of the 12 winners of the Miss International Queen title, eight of them have been from Asia,  and four of the eight Asian winners have been Thai. 

Also to add another things that make you go hmm layer to this, all four Thai winner have worked as Tiffany's cabaret showgirls.   Tiffany's BTW, is one of the sponsors of this pageant. 

The other Asian MIQ winners have been from Japan, South Korea and two from the Philippines.

The other four contestants non Asians who have won the Miss International Queen pageant title have come from South America (Brazil and Colombia) and North America (US and Mexico) 

It's obvious that the Miss International Queen pageant has an anti-Blackness problem, and the immediate fix for that is to have an international panel of judges that doesn't have ties to Miss Tiffany's Cabaret.

And when I say an international panel of judges, I don't mean just grabbing judges from other parts of Asia because that won't fix the glaring anti-Black bias problem.   Y'all still have a continent wide problem in Asia of considering white skin as the penultimate in beauty.

It's why the Miss Universe pageant not only has a diverse judging panel, that panel also includes former titleholders because what is considered beautiful is different in different corners of the world, and yeah Miss International Queen, dark skinned women are beautiful as well. 

If this pageant is going to claim that it is the premiere international pageant for transgender women, some of those trans women are going to be dark skinned ones with African heritage. 

The anti-Black, pro-Asian and pro Miss Tiffany showgirl bias has got to end in order for the Miss International Queen trans pageant to have international credibility with people around the world who are thinking about competing in it.

Because no one is going to travel halfway around the world or put their hard earned money towards entering a pageant that they believe is unfairly rigged or they won't have a shot at winning because the judges are biased against them.

Miss International Queen 2017 Is..

Another Thai winner.  

Jiratchaya  Sirimongkolnawin was crowned on March 10 as the newest Miss International Queen winner.  The runner ups in Miss International Queen 2017 were a pair of girls from South America. First runner up was Nathalie Oliveira of Brazil and the second runner up was Andrea Collazo of Venezuela.



While I ain't mad at those girls who won or were the first and second runners up, I've had a problem with Miss International Queen on a lot of levels since 2011.


My dissatisfaction with this so-called most prestigious premiere international pageant for trans women has only increased since I wrote this post in the wake of the controversial end of the 2011 pageant calling for Miss International Queen to have an international judging panel.

I have serious questions about the impartiality of an all Thai panel with uncomfortable connections to the host Tiffany's venue, and also have serious concerns that those Thai judges have a cultural bias against dark skin girls.

If that's not the case, then why has there in the history of this MIQ pageant NEVER been a Black trans woman to win it, and only three who have even placed in the top three of the pageant since 2004?

Black trans girls across the African Diaspora don't even bother trying to enter the Miss International Queen pageant because of the perceived anti-Black bias.

It's also problematic when all four Thai winners of the Miss International Queen title also won the Thai only Miss Tiffany's Thai pageant that year, and the Tiffany's show bar in Pattaya is the host venue for Miss International Queen.

So nope, still going to be giving Miss International Queen the side eye until they decide to make the changes necessary that will take the pageant to the next level, make it a truly international event, and people who wish to compete in it don't feel like it's rigged in favor of a Thai or Asian trans girl.

Miss International Queen 2014 Is..

For the first time ever is from Venezuela.

22 year old Isabella Santiago beat out  21 contestants from 18 nations to win the tenth edition of the Miss International Queen Pageant in Pattaya, Thailand on November 7.

Santiago is the first ever Miss International Queen winner from her nation that has regularly tasted success in Miss Universe competition around the globe but until now had never had someone win, much less placed in this prestigious pageant for trans feminine women that started in 2004.

She is the second straight contestant from South America to take home the Miss International Queen crown., and you have to wonder despite the controversial comment of Gabriela Isler when the head of Venezuela's Miss Universe organizing body will finally relent and allow trans women like Ms. Santiago to compete for their nation in the Miss Universe pageant system.

Congratulations, Isabella!

2009 Miss Tiffany Winner Detransitions To Become A Monk

Back in May 2009 I wrote about Sorawee 'Jazz' Nattee becoming the latest person to wear the Miss Tiffany's crown and become Thailand's representative in the upcoming Miss International Queen Pageant that November.   

Nattee ended up not placing in that Miss International Queen competition won by Ai Haruna of Japan but did finish third in the pre-pageant competition.    

The interesting news that came out of the Land of Smiles ironically right about the time the Miss Tiffany pageant is held in Thailand is that the now 24 year old Nattee traded her crown for the orange robes of Buddhist monkhood.

Since only males can become Buddhist monks, that meant Nattee had to detransition to do so. 

The international trans community has been hearing about disturbing cases in Thailand in which families who are majorly resistant to their trans children transitioning to live as women or their gay ones being forced to become monks.

According to Nattee, this isn't what's happening in his situation.  ‘It’s not that I’ve become a monk to run away from problems, but I’ve studied dhamma for two years and now know what it truly is.’’ 

Nattee also said in the Bangkok Post article he was doing so to repay his parents.

Genital surgery is optional for a contestant in the Miss Tiffany's and Miss International Queen competitions, and according to Nattee's family the only surgery Jazz had at the time of competition were breast implants..

Nattee removed the implants and took the ordination name of Phra Maha Viriyo Bhikku as he entered a monastery in his home southern Songkla province. He didn't hide the fact that four years ago he was wearing the Miss Tiffany's pageant crown.

"I want to be a monk for the rest of my life and I’m ready to leave my worldly possessions behind,’’ Jazz said after becoming a monk at Wat Liab

I and everyone else in trans world hope that Nattee freely made this decision and wasn't pushed into it by his parents or other outside influences.   If it's what Jazz truly desires and made the conscious decision to do so, then best of luck in his life and spiritual journey.

But if he didn't, I definitely along with people in Thailand won't be surprised to see the return of Jazz

Miss International Queen 2013 Is...

Since we won't have any trans contestants competing at the Miss Universe pageant (that we're aware of) taking place in Moscow on November 9, my attention for the moment shifts to Pattaya, Thailand where 25 transfeminine contestants from 17 countries gathered for the Miss International Queen Pageant

The finals were held last night (November 1 Thai time) and this year's winner is Marcela Ohio, representing Brazil.  First runner up was Shantell D'Marco of the US and second runner up was Nethnapada Kanrayanon of Thailand (big surprise).

It's not only the first time a representative from South America has claimed the title, she is the second Latina to do so after the late Erica Andrews who represented Mexico in 2006.  Her win was only the third time since the pageant's start in 2004 and the first since Erica Andrews did so that someone not from the Asia-Pacific Rim nations has taken home the Miss International Queen crown. 



And yeah, it extended the Miss International Queen title drought for African descended trans women.