Australian transsexual pageant prize: Sex change surgery

The winner of Miss Transsexual Australia this year will be offered a sex change surgery in Thailand, according to pageant organizers.

The pageant, which has eight registered candidates, will be held in Melbourne on January 30 and is part of the Midsumma Festival.

A gift voucher for the surgery is offered by Kamol Hospital, an aesthetic center based in Bangkok, is for a free male-to-female sex reassignment surgery that includes a return airfare accommodation and cash worth US$15,000.

“The choice of sex change surgery is purely up to the winner,” said co-pageant organizer, Gayzha Davao in a statement.

“She can choose to have a sex change, or, undergo cosmetic or plastic surgery services other than a sex change, at one of the Thailand’s top cosmetic and plastic hospitals.”

Davao underscored that pageant organizers are not advocating surgery or sex change surgery for transgender people.

“As a beauty pageant organiser, our role is to raise awareness and promote acceptance and positive images of transgender people," Davao added.

The winner will be announced at the crowning ceremony of the Miss Gay and Miss Transsexual Australia 2016 beauty pageant on January 30 at The Substation, 1 Market Street in Newport. — BAP, GMA News