Biological Man Wins the Crown in Miss Netherlands Beauty Pageant
The patriarchy strikes again. Another man has taken a title away from a woman in a female-centered competition. Rikkie Valerie Kolle, a biological male, is the latest to make headline news after winning the crown at the Miss Netherlands 2023 beauty pageant, giving him a shot at competing for the title of Miss Universe.
Kolle, who identifies as a transgender woman, was the first biological male to win the competition.
“I DID IT!” Kolle wrote in an Instagram caption on the photo of him receiving the crown, “I made my community proud and showed it can be done,” he added in Dutch.
“Yes you did it, you just stole a victory from a real woman,” one of the first comments on the post read. Many other women took to his page to express their anger stating it was unfair that the biological man took the crown from “real women.”
“A man just stole the first place of a woman and gets applause for it. Full circle, we just killed 200 years of work of women who fought for equality,” another woman commented.
On Twitter, users had a similar response, with many highlighting how the runner-up, Nathalie Mogbelzada, was more deserving of the title “Miss Netherlands.”
“A man has won ‘Miss Netherlands’ in 2023. Considering that we live in a post-truth world, I wasn’t expecting anything else. It’s all so predictable and unoriginal at this point.” Dutch commentator, Eva Vlaardingerbroek tweeted.
Many posts showed the two contestants side by side simply comparing the facial features of the two highlighting that based on the photos alone one candidate seemed to far outshine the other.
Despite the pushback, Kolle is now set to compete in the Miss Universe beauty pageant competition later this year. So-called trans-women have been allowed to participate since 2012 and back in 2018, Spain’s Angela Ponce, was the first transgender woman to compete, with Kolle competing as the second.
Back in October of 2022, Miss Universe was bought by a transgender-identifying woman named, Anne Jakkapong Jakrajutatip. In a press release regarding Jakrajutatip’s takeover as the owner of Miss Universe, he stated, “We seek not only to continue its legacy of providing a platform to passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions, but also to evolve the brand for the next generation.”
