Transgender joins Miss Global pageant
A transgender, who almost made it as an official candidate in the 2014 Miss Manila beauty pageant, may finally be admitted to a national beauty contest for women, this time for single women and single moms.
Sources said that the transgender, who they refused
to name, has screened for the 2015 Miss Global Philippines beauty contest which is in the process of selecting its official candidates.
In fact, the candidate has made the semifinals cut.
Initial reactions of the organizers about the transgender candidate were positive.
“The organizers like the candidate actually. They are just waiting for the transgender’s documents to prove that she’s female,” sources said.
The official candidates for the 2015 Miss Global Philippines will be announced today, July 6. If the candidate makes it to the official list, the transgender could be the first candidate in a national pageant for women in the Philippines.
Last year, some candidates for the Miss Manila pageant were surprised to see the transgender in the contest exclusively for women. The transgender quit the Miss Manila contest for reportedly failing to present his birth certificate to pageant organizers.
It was reported that other contestants then for Miss Manila were ready to protest if he joined the all-women beauty contest.
When Manila Bulletin/Tempo confronted the candidate about the issue, the transgender refused to discuss it, saying it was an invasion of privacy.
The same person also did not comment when asked about his real gender.
Months later, it was found out that the transgender joined show business after he reportedly signed a contract with a popular movie outfit. But his movie career apparently did not prosper, sources said.
Now on its second year, the Miss Global Philippines contest puts together both qualified single and single moms on one stage to represent the Philippines in the Miss Global pageant later this year.
“It’s a groundbreaking move for a beauty pageant to gather single women and single moms for the same competition,” said National Pageant Director and CEO Pauline Laping. It is co-chaired by former Miss Philippines Earth Stephany Stefanowitz.