Supermodel Geena Rocero wants beauty pageants to accept more trans women

“It's an absolute yes,” tells trans advocate Geena Rocero to GMANetwork.com when asked if more beauty pageants should incorporate more trans women candidates into their competitions.

Before flying out to the United States, Geena, who is also a former beauty queen, says it's about time other international organizations recognized trans women as women to give their community a voice.

“First of all, the Miss Universe has already accepted trans women and the policies have been in place since 2012,” she says.

“Some people might say that it started with Angela Ponce because she was the first candidate [to be introduced in the Miss Universe international stage].

“But, it was actually Jenna Talackova of Miss Universe Canada who was the first one to speak up and share her truth about joining Miss Universe Canada as a trans woman. And she joined some other pageant; I think Miss International Queen.

“But with her conviction on standing up, speaking her truth, and fighting for her rights, that led to the changes that we see now.

“So it's important to put everything in context because there's a long history of trans women standing up and fighting for our rights.”

Geena also commends countries that have already started allowing trans women to join the competition and allow them to let their voices be heard on an international stage.

She says, “I have to say, as a global dynamic, there's a fast-moving train of inclusion when it comes to trans women for pageants.

“I hope it's not just the Miss Universe but different titles all over the world. Things are changing, and we have to make our voices louder, obviously. We need to make sure that inclusion includes everybody all over the world.

“I could name some countries have changed their policies, Canada, USA, Spain, UK as well, in Asia we have Mongolia, Nepal. Come on, Miss Universe Philippines, we can do this!

“What's really important is the conversation. We need to get the conversation going, and also trans women have a big role to play in advocating on behalf of their trans women sisters.”

Geena Rocero came out as a transgender woman at a TED Talk in March 2014, the same day as the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Geena is now a founder of Gender Proud and has spoken about transgender rights at the United Nations Headquarters, the World Economic Forum, and the White House.

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