In 2012, miss universe changed its rules allowed transgender who are naturally born, to participates in the miss the universe competition.
Kataluna Enriquez is Filipino American transgender she is 27 years old she is an activist and also a fashion designer. She was born in the Philippines but at a very early age they have shifted to Las Vegas. Now the first contestant in Miss Universe in the USA. Before she participated in Miss Universe she won and was crowned as a Miss Nevada in Las Vegas on 27 June. And she wrote on her Instagram handles a very emotional line for her community
My community, you are always in my heart. My win is our win. We just made history
Kataluna also compete in a transgender beauty pageant in 2016 she was also the first who competing in cisgender last year.
She told her story in an interview in the daily Las Vegas review- journal where she confessed she is the one who designed and sewed her gown for the Miss Nevada competition. Also, she told the abuse and harassment she faces during the competition. She said:
I told the judges that as a transgender woman of color and a survivor of physical and sexual abuse, I am everything that is under-represented in this country.
She also stated
Our voices matter. Those whose voices aren’t always heard deserve the chance to be heard.
She also told the struggle and handles she faces whenever she participates in any pageant when the organizer knows about her gender. In March when she participates in a pageant when organizers know about her gender they ask her to provide invasive documents. She was also not assigned a roommate like other contestants.
Now kataluna shares her life experiences and shares them in her campaign #bevisible.If kataluna Enriquez wins the title of Miss USA then she will be a second transgender competitor all over the world. The first competitor was Spain’s Angela Ponce.
