Singapore Beauty Pageant Significantly Eases Participation Criteria
Married Singaporean Man After Gender Reassignment Surgery
"I Will Become a Successful Transgender Woman"
Transgender Katrisha Jairia, who advanced to the finals of the Miss Universe Singapore pageant. Photo by Katrisha Jairia Instagram
A transgender woman made headlines by becoming the first in the history of Singapore's beauty pageant to advance to the finals.
On the 3rd, foreign media including The Straits Times reported that among the 15 finalists of the Miss Universe Singapore (MUS) pageant held last week, transgender woman 'Katrisha Jairia' was included. This marks the first time in the 70-year history of the pageant that a woman who has undergone gender reassignment surgery has advanced to the finals.
Jairia, aged 33, works in the fashion industry and boasts a height of 180 cm. She underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2017 and married her Singaporean husband. Last year, she was the runner-up at the Miss International Queen pageant held in Pattaya, Thailand. Jairia said, "I met my husband while serving in the military when we were 20 years old," adding, "He has always been by my side throughout my transformation from boy to woman."
She continued, "MUS is about fighting against my life, struggles, failures, fears, and discrimination," and said, "It is a great opportunity to show how I am realizing my dream of becoming a successful transgender woman." She also added, "It would be wonderful to become the first transgender woman to represent Singapore on the global stage," and "I might even become the first transgender person to represent Asia."
She named Miss Spain Angela Ponce, the first transgender contestant in Miss Universe in 2018, as her role model. Jairia explained, "I cried when I saw Angela represent transgender women on stage," and "She inspired me and gave courage to more transgender women to participate in beauty pageants." Miss Universe has allowed transgender contestants to participate since 2012.
Meanwhile, the Miss Universe Singapore pageant originally only allowed single women aged 18 to 28 to participate, but the eligibility criteria were significantly relaxed starting last year. The organizers emphasized diversity and inclusivity as the values of the pageant. Accordingly, any woman aged 18 or older can now apply, and married women or those who have given birth are also eligible to compete. The pageant organizers stated, "With the relaxed eligibility criteria, the most applicants in recent years have applied," and "The oldest applicant was a 65-year-old woman."
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