The Miss Italy beauty pageant sparked outrage after reemphasizing its ban on transgenders-identifying individuals from the competition, announcing that participants “must be a woman from birth.”
The announcement came after a biological man won Miss Netherlands 2023, earlier this year.
Patrizia Mirigliani, the official patron of Miss Italy, shared that she felt transgender inclusivity efforts made by other beauty pageants were “a bit absurd.” She also shared that she feels allowing biological men to participate is simply a strategy to garner headlines.
Mirigliani has been involved with Miss Italy since the 1980s, and her father was involved since 1959. She has shared, “Ever since it was born, my contest has included in its regulations the specification that one must be a woman from birth,” according to Business Insider.
She went on to state that even back then, “women could undergo modifications, or that men could become women” which is why the rule has always been instated.
Mirigliani’s comments come after Rikkie Valerie Kolle, a biological man, made headlines for becoming the first transgender Miss Netherlands, after winning the beauty pageant in July of this year.
After Mirigliani made the announcement, Kolle took to Instagram to express his disappointment, “This is so sad,” he shared his Instagram story, further adding that he feels that “it seems that we are only moving further back,” in response to biological men not being allowed to compete.
Despite Miss Italy’s decision, their contestants may still have to compete alongside transgender competitor Kolle, who is set to compete in the 72nd Miss Universe competition later this year.
Kolle hasn’t been the only one to protest against the Miss Italy’s decision. According to Pink News, in a hilarious counter-protest, Italian women who identify as transgender men have been applying to enter the Miss Italy competition to criticize the “female from birth” rule. By doing so, these “transgender men” are inadvertently admitting that they are indeed women.
