Filipina wins transgender pageant in Thailand

Filipina Trixie Maristela was crowned Miss International Queen 2015 on Friday at a contest in Thailand billed as the world's largest transgender pageant.

The 29-year-old beat 26 other competitors for the coveted crown, with second and third place going to contestants from Brazil and Thailand respectively.

"I still can't believe that I won. Right now, I don't know what I'm going to do next but I'm very thankful to, you know, to be given this chance to win Miss International Queen, which is a very, very prestigious pageant for transgenders," said Maristela who wore a glittering red and beige evening gown.

"Miss International Queen made us feel that we are very important people and because of that, we gained confidence and we are empowered to do whatever it is that we want to do in life, whether it's in military, whether it's in the academia or whatever it is that we dream to become," she said.

Thailand remains a largely conservative society, with no laws recognizing same-sex unions. But it has a prominent lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, with many members playing leading roles in its entertainment industry.

"In other countries, like Thailand and other Asian countries, transgenders are very well accepted and celebrated, not like Japan. Miss International Queen opens the door for everyone so that the other countries can also celebrate and accept transgender people," Japanese contestant Ryo Mizuno told Reuters before the show in the Thai beach town of Pattaya.

But Thai laws keep gay couples from taking out joint back loans or medical insurance.

They also ban changes to gender categories on national identity papers.

A panel tasked with drafting Thailand's new constitution after the previous one was torn up by the military following a 2014 coup by the army said it was considering including the term "third gender" for the first time to empower transgender and gay communities.

But that measure has been put on hold after a military-appointed assembly voted not to pass the draft constitution in September. —Reuters