Taj Jackson Attempting To Make More Black Pageant History

Earlier this year Jazell Harvey became the first Black person ever to win the Miss International Queen trans pageant in its 15 year history.

While we have had since the Miss Universe system opened their doors to trans women in 2013, several trans women from around the globe have attempted to make it to the Miss Universe pageant stage,. starting with Canada's Jenna Talackova.

The only one so far that has successfully done so, although she didn't make it to the 15 semifinalist round, has been Miss Spain Universe 2018 Angela Ponce. 

We have had trans women from Canada, Mongolia, Chile and Norway make it to their national pageant stages.   Trans women in China, Belgium, Brazil and Puerto Rico fell short of making it to their national pageant stage.

None of those trans contestants attempting to make it to a Miss Universe stage or compete in a US state pageant has been Black until now.

Taj Jackson is the person who attempt to do so, and she couldn't have picked a tougher pageant challenge.  The Miss Inglewood delegate is competing in the Miss California Universe 2020 pageant, which sends its winner to the Miss USA one and is part of the Miss universe pageant system. 

Miss California Universe along with Miss Texas Universe are considered two of the toughest state pageants to win and qualify for Miss USA in because both have more than 200 contestants competing in them.  That is triple the number of contestants Miss Universe has had in recent years. 

Miss Universe 2019 only had 90 contestants in this year's pageant won by South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi. 

These pageants also have a proud history of sending their winners on to Miss USA and Miss Universe glory.   Miss Texas USA and Miss California USA also rank numbers one and two in terms of the number of winners of their respective pageant who have gone on to win Miss USA

A Miss Texas USA has won nine times, with a streak of five consecutive winners in the 1980's.  Miss California Universe has had six women win Miss USA.

Jackson won't be the first out trans woman to ever compete in Miss California Universe.  That distinction already belongs to Kylan Wenzel, who competed back in 2013.

But Taj is undaunted by the odds, and proud of the history she is making as the first out Black trans contestant at any Miss Universe system pageant in the US and across the Diaspora..

As Miss Inglewood, Taj is looking for fiscal sponsors as the January 26 date of this Miss California 2020 pageant rapidly approaches.

Good luck to you Taj and here's hoping you make history. 

   

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.

Miss France Universe Open To Trans Contestants

The Miss Universe Pageant system has been open to trans contestants since 2013, but only one trans person, Spain's Angela Ponce, has won her national pageant and made it to the Miss Universe pageant stage.

Since Canada's Jenna Talackova attempt to make it to Miss Universe, other trans women from around the world have entered their national Miss Universe qualifying pageants in Belgium, Mongolia, Puerto Rico, Norway and most recently Chile but failed to capture crowns. 

There are some notable Miss Universe pageant nation holdouts such as Venezuela, Mexico and surprisingly Thailand and the Philippines.   Those two nations obstinate refusal to do so is even more puzzling considering they are home to major trans beauty pageants.

Another one of those surprising to me holdout nations was France.  The Miss France pageant is a popular television event that draws 7.4 million viewers every December.  It also has a long history of iconic trans women who called France home during the 50's and 60's

Jacqueline-Charlotte 'Coccinelle' Dufresnoy and Marie-Pier Ysser performed in Paris' legendary Madame Arthur and Le Carousel transgender cabarets along with Britain's April Ashley and later Caroline Cossey.

Dufresnoy not only turned down a lucrative offer to join Bob Hope's touring troupe, she blazed human rights trails  for French trans people until her death in 2006.

The national director of the French pageant, Sylvie Tellier, recently conducted an interview with the local  Le Parisien newspaper.   She confirmed that contestants between 18-25 will no longer have to be AFAB (assigned female at birth) people, and the rules have been changed to reflect this change.

Teller was a former Miss France herself who won the crown in 2002.   She has been director since 2007, but believes France is not ready for a trans woman to wear the Miss France crown.   She also thinks a trans woman would have little chance of winning the crown.

Au contraire Madame Tellier.   Never underestimate what a trans woman can or cannot do.  I hope that somewhere in France right now is the trans woman who will make that history and make you eat crow in the process.     

Miss Chile Universe Has A Trans Contestant!

When Erin Grinde Tunheim's attempt to win Miss Norway Universe resulted in her finishing as the third runner up in this pageant, with the number of Miss Universe national pageants quickly dwindling, I believed that the international trans community had run out of chances to have another trans beauty walk a Miss Universe pageant stage in 2019.

I wasn't aware until yesterday that we had another trans woman qualify for her national pageant, and this time it wasn't in Europe.

The person who would attempt to make that history was in Chile, and she is 26 year old model Gera Saint Garriga.   She won the Miss Santiago title, which punched her ticket to the national pageant held in Punta Arenas that had her competing against 17 other women from across the nation.

Saint Garriga was motivated to do so after seeing Angela Ponce win Miss Spain Universe and compete in last year's Miss Universe in Bangkok.    She is proud to not only be the first out trans person person in her nation to qualify for a national Miss Universe pageant, but the first out trans person to do so in South America, Latin America and the Western Hemisphere.

While she made it as one of the five finalists, the Miss Universe Chile crown went to 19 year old Geraldine Gonzalez, who will be Chile's representative at Miss Universe. 

Saint Garriga finished third

Will We Have A Trans Miss Norway Universe?

If you're wondering if there will be ever another trans woman gracing the Miss Universe stage in the wake of Spain's Angela Ponce doing so, the answer to that question is maybe.

We have already had two trans women in this Miss Universe 2019 competition cycle attempt to do so in Brazil and Puerto Rico,  but neither advanced to their national pageant stages. 

Nathalie Oliveira competed in the Miss Rio de Janeiro Universe pageant back in January.   While she was a first runner up at the 2016 Miss International Queen trans pageant in Pattaya, Thailand,  she failed to advance to the Miss Brazil pageant stage.

The same was the case for Puerto Rico's Daniela Arroyo.   She got a callback for the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant, but wasn't selected as one of the final 29 contestants. 

The latest trans woman who will attempt to win her nation's Miss Universe pageant crown is Norway's Eirin Grinde Tunheim.

The 26 year old is of Thai, Cambodian heritage, and is a dental student who speaks five languages.



She is the first out trans person to make the 12 person field that selects Norway's representative in the Miss Universe Pageant.

The Miss Norway Universe pageant finals will take place in August, and we will learn at that time if Eirin makes history again by becoming the first trans Miss Norway and the second out trans woman to be able to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

Good luck to Eirin, and hope she does grace the Miss Universe 2019 stage later this year.   I also hope she goes farther in the competition and actually makes the 15 semifinalists.

TransGriot Update:  Eirin was third runner up in the pageant 

Trans Girl Gets Callback For Miss Puerto Rico Universe Pageant!

A few weeks ago my sis Joanna Cifredo and I were on the phone catching up with each other about the events that had transpired in our lives since our last conversation.   She recently moved back to Puerto Rico  to start a youth centered organization there, and after finding out how that was going, our conversation turned to beauty pageants.

It happened in the wake of Angela Ponce's historic week in Bangkok as the first out trans contestant at Miss Universe, and we talked about the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant opening their doors to trans participation. 

We wondered aloud about the odds that the next girl like us to be a Miss Universe trans contestant could possibly come from Puerto Rico. 

We knew Denise Quinones,  the 2001 Miss Universe winner and new national director of Miss Universe Puerto Rico, has been vocally supportive of trans women competing in the Miss Universe pageant system

But we wondered if she was serious about taking the next step and actually making space for Puerto Rican trans girls to compete for this title.

Apparently, Quinones wasn't kidding, and our conversation put some positive vibes in the air for it to happen. .

University of Puerto Rico journalism student Daniela Victoria Arroyo announced on her Instagram page that she'd received a  call back for the second round of the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant contestant search.

What's the significance of that callback?   Puerto Rico is considered one of the Miss Universe pageant superpowers in  the long history of this contest. . 

A Miss Puerto Rico has won the Miss Universe title five times  (1970, 1985, 2001, 2003, 2006) ,but its last win came in 2006 when Zulekya Rivera captured the crown. 

Rivera is also supportive of trans women being able to compete for the Miss Universe crown.

Quinones wants to change that, and she wants another Puerto Rican Miss Universe titleholder as soon as possible under her watch as the pageant national director.

Arroyo has already made Puerto Rican history.  She was part of the group of trans feminine plaintiffs that successfully sued the Puerto Rican government in 2017 for the right to change their names on their birth certificates.   

In addition to her university studies, she has also been a fierce advocate for the rights of Puerto Rican trans people. 

The question we're all asking is will Daniela Arroyo get that opportunity to compete for Miss Puerto Rico?   If she does, can she win the crown on May 26 and make it to the 2019 Miss Universe stage as Puerto Rico's representative?

Congratulations Daniela!   Hope you get a shot at making more history.

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

Proud Of You, Angela!

"What an honor a pride to be part of the history of @missuniverse.  This is for you, for those who have no visibility, no voice, because we all deserve a world of respect, inclusion and freedom.  And today I am here, proudly representing my nation, all women and human rights."
-Angela Ponce 

While she wrote those words on her Instagram page in Spanish, they were clearly understood all over the world.
.

The eyes on much of the world were turned to Bangkok and the 2018 Miss Universe Pageant to see if Angela Ponce could become the first ever trans feminine Miss Universe.

And yeah, admit it. Some of you were tearing up like I was when she made that solo walk on the Miss Universe stage last night to a standing ovation. .

Heavy favorite Catriona Gray of the Philippines was one of the last two women standing onstage at Miss World two years ago and didn't win.    The 24 year old had a much happier result this time, becoming the fourth Filipina to capture the crown 

While Ponce didn't make it to the Top 20 semifinalists, can't say enough how proud I am, trans feminine kids, and trans women around the world are that a girl like us was repping her country and us in the world's premiere beauty pageant.

Yes, elements of you hate on trans feminine women for irrational reasons.   Elements of you also hate on beauty pageants for a lot of reasons. 

For the trans feminine people who compete in them, pageants are a way to have who we are and have always known ourselves to be affirmed to the entire world.

Many trans feminine pageant contestants have been standing a lot taller this week knowing that a girl like us achieved a dream many of them had to one day compete in a premiere pageant like Miss Universe.

Trans women around the world were also standing a little taller as well.

Angela Ponce shook off the haters and represented us with class and dignity from the moment she won Miss Spain in June to competing in Miss Universe.   And while we didn't get to see trans history made on that Bangkok stage last night. it's just a matter of time before some trans girl walks away from a future Miss Universe pageant with the crown.

And note to the willfully ignorant haters out there, trans women are women. 

Ponce said in the runup to the pageant, "I don't need to win, I just need to be here."

But by just being in this year's Miss Universe competition and being on stage, you won in so many ways not only for yourself, but an entire community.   It also by you being on stage expands the horizons for what trans feminine kids can dare to dream about and accomplish. 

Ms. Ponce blazed a trail and set a standard that a future trans Miss Universe winner must acknowledge when she does win that title   

Angela Ponce- Miss Universe National Costume Contest

Getting closer to the live televised Miss Universe pageant, but the preliminary contest will happen on December 13. 

All 94 contestants will participate in evening wear, swimsuit and an interview portion in front of judges.   The scores they earn during that portion will determine who the 20 semifinalists will be competing on Sunday. 

On December 10 the National Costume Show was held.  It's a Miss Universe tradition in which all 94 delegates get to choose a national costume that best represents the culture of their nation. 

Y'all know I'm rooting for Angela.   Here she is repping Spain



If you wish to watch the entire show, have the video here for you pageant junkies.

US and Canadian Conservafools Are Hating On Angela Ponce

We're two weeks away from crowning a new Miss Universe 2018, and the conservafools are tripping because of Miss Spain-Universe Angela Ponce not only being in this year's competition, but being considered one of the favorites to take the crown.

Hate on, transphobic conservahaters.   And yeah, we know through your trans hate speech that you're definitely nervous about the prospect of Ponce actually being crowned Miss Universe.

They recognize the importance of Ponce competing as the first out trans contestant in what is considered the world's most prestigious beauty pageant   The conservafools in Canada and the US are throwing every lie and falsehood about trans people out there they can in their media outlets and hoping it sticks in the larger media universe.

Ponce, to her credit has been what she always has been, classy in the face of transphobic ignorance.  It's rumored that Ponce will be roommates in Bangkok with Miss Colombia-Universe Valeria Morales, and reached out to her after she made those transphobic comments.

Hey, if that's true, she's better than me in this situation.  Knowing how shady pageants can get, I wouldn't trust home girl, much less want to be in the same room with somebody who publicly made disparaging remarks about me.

Ponce stated in a recent TIME magazine interview that if she won, it would be a sharp rebuke to the anti-trans ignorance the Trump misadministration is trying to install at the federal government
level.

"More than a message to him, it would be a win for human rights. Trans women have been persecuted and erased for so long. If they give me the crown, it would show trans women are just as much women as cis women."

She also said in that TIME interview,"I’m showing that trans women can be whatever they want to be: a teacher, a mother, a doctor, a politician and even Miss Universe."

No matter what happens, she will always be in the history books as the first out Miss Universe trans contestant, and probably won't be the last.   

Ponce competing in Miss Universe has generated excitement not only in our international trans community, but pageant buzz that will probably translate into higher ratings for the live broadcast from Bangkok on December 16.


And yes, I'm hoping she wins for another reason.   Lauren Foster was outed by a jealous cis model when Foster was poised to compete in the Miss Universe South Africa pageant back in the 80's.

How delicious would it be if the current Miss Universe Demi- Leigh Nel-Peters, who is from South Africa, crowned Angela Ponce as her successor? 

Angela's Headed To Miss Universe 2018!

"I’m competing because it’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl. I’m showing that trans women can be whatever they want to be: a teacher, a mother, a doctor, a politician and even Miss Universe."-Angela Ponce

Miss Spain Universe Angela Ponce is headed to Thailand to hopefully make more history.

The 27 year old has already done so as the first out trans woman ever to win a national Miss Universe pageant, and is seeking to become the first trans winner of the 67th edition of the world's most prestigious beauty pageant when it is held in Bangkok on December 17.

She's had some loud transphobic haters, like Miss Colombia Universe 2018 Valeria Morales and Lupita Jones, the head of the Miss Mexico Universe organization.   But Ponce also has her supporters in Spain, the Miss Universe Spain organization, others within the Miss Universe pageant world such as Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, and Miss Philippines Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.

Most importantly, her family and her trans family around the planet support her as well.

She's headed to Thailand now because there is a preliminary portion of the pageant that whittles down the  94 delegates to the sixteen contestants you'll see on stage during the live broadcast once again hosted by Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham

Safe travels Angela and good luck to you during the Miss Universe 2018 pageant! 

Miss Universe Mexico Head Lupita Jones Hatin' On Trans Women

Hasn't even been a week yet and another Latin American pageant queen besides Miss Colombia opens her pretty mouth to let something ugly and transphobic come out of it.

This time it was Lupita Jones, who won the Miss Universe title in 1991 and was the first Mexican woman to do so.   She now runs the Miss Universe pageant franchise in Mexico and by her remarks, made it clear that if she had it her way, Mexican trans women wouldn't be eligible to compete for the Miss Mexico Universe or Miss Universe titles.

Jones made her transphobic remarks during a televised event celebrating the opening of the new season of Teatro en Corto in Mexico City. 

"As head of Miss Universe in Mexico, I have to bide by the rules of the organization.  But on a personal level, I disagree, because I don't think we are under equal conditions,  A woman that was born one will never be like a transgender woman.   Biologically they are not the same."

 Oh really Miss Thang?   And what 'equal conditions' are you babbling about?

Some of your Miss Universe pageant cis women are surgically enhanced.   Don't even try to push that narrative that only trans women get surgery.   Miss Universe pageant rules not only allow surgery, but allow you if you wish to not disclose the fact you did so.  Miss Brazil Universe 2001 Juliana Borges admitted she'd had 19 surgeries in the runup to that 2001 pageant, and it's been suspected that Venezuela's rise as a Miss Universe powerhouse is plastic surgery fueled

Something else you need to educate yourself about is the increasing international transgender research conducted by Dr Eric Vilain at UCLA and others that are in conflict with your facts free opinion.  Medical evidence emphatically points out that the brains of trans and cis women are similar in structure. 

And let me make this next point in your native tongue so there is no misunderstanding concerning the point I wish to get across.

Mujeres trans son mujeres.

Some of the most gorgeous trans women I have met during my time in this community come from Mexico. 

In the short history by comparison to Miss Universe of the Thailand based Miss International Queen transgender pageant, one of those Mexican born trans women, Erica Andrews, captured the 2006 crown.

Jones kept digging the hole she was in by saying the Miss Universe contest is 'not for them," but then trying to claim in the same breath that she supported the trans  human rights struggle.

Your comments suggest you don't, and it's why you're getting dragged across the Net for it.

As you pointed out before you went on your transphobic rant, the competition rules for Miss Universe say otherwise.  Since Ximena Navarrete was in 2010 the last Mexican woman to win Miss Universe, you may wish to consider sending one of Mexico's trans women to rep y'all on the Miss Universe stage.

Lupita, miss me with that transphobic BS.