Transgender model Angela Ponce, recently crowned Miss Spain, will next compete in the 2018 Miss Universe pageant in December in the Philippines, making her the event’s first ever transgender participant.
The 26-year-old Ponce competed against 22 other contestants for the Miss Spain title on June 29, Hello Giggles reported.
The Miss Universe Pageant had banned transgender models from participating until 2012, when a change was made following the disqualification of Jenna Talackova, a transgender Miss Universe Canada hopeful who was forbidden from participating in her country’s pageant, E! News reported.
Ponce took to Instagram to share her excitement.
“Bringing the name and colors of Spain before the universe is my great dream,” she wrote in Spanish, according to The Express. “My goal is to be a spokesperson for a message of inclusion, respect and diversity not only for the LGBTQ+ community but also for the entire world.”
The past year has seen many triumphs for the LGBTQ community, but behind the scenes individuals had been campaigning for equal rights for years.
In 2014, Geena Rocero, a Filipino model and former beauty queen, came out as transgender, announcing that she was launching a worldwide awareness campaign.
“Some people have the courage to break free, not to accept the limitations imposed by the color of their skin or by the beliefs of those that surround them,” she said at the time. “Those people are always the threat to the status quo of what is considered acceptable.”
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