While it may be becoming increasingly controversial among some people, the tradition of Miss World – at least for now – lives on.

The competition, which was founded in the UK in 1951 by Eric Morley, was originally part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, and was known by the name the Festival Bikini Contest.

In fact, the original purpose of the event was to promote the bikini, a fairly new addition to the fashion market – and it was reportedly the press which dubbed the competition, which at that time was considered by many to be rather immodest, ‘Miss World’.

Eventually, to counteract this, in 1980, the pageant introduced a new slogan: Beauty With a Purpose. Contestants were given the additional challenges of intelligence and personality tests. But this was not enough for the BBC to keep broadcasting the event, ditching it in 1984, after which it was moved to various channels including ITV, Thames Television, Sky One, and Channel 5.

Dropping the show, BBC1 controller Michael Grade said: ‘I believe these contests no longer merit national air time. They are an anachronism in this day and age of equality and verging on the offensive.’

Here, FEMAIL looks at what happened to some of the contestants after they were crowned in the controversial event.

Kaiane Aldorino 

Kaiane (pictured in 2014) was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Gibraltar, after becoming the first woman from Gibraltar to win Miss World

Crowned in December 2009, Kaiane made history with her victory as the first ever Miss Gibraltar to be crowned Miss World.

She was the first Gibraltarian woman not only to win a major pageant, but to ever reach the semi-finals of a major one.

And the pageant winner, who was born in 1986, arguably refutes Michael Grade’s opinion that these contestants are an ‘anachronism’ which fail to ‘merit air time’.

After all, she had impressive achievements under her belt: Kaiane is a Gibraltarian politician – between 2017 and 2019, she held the ceremonial position of mayor.

Preceded by a stint as Deputy Mayor, which began in 2014, she became mayor of the territory in 2017. 

On top of this, in 2018, Kaiane took part in a twinning ceremony between Gibraltar and Jamaica. She was part of a delegation that travelled to Jamaica in 2019 to consolidate the agreement.

She has also carried out philanthropic gestures, donating $10,000 received from the Miss World Organization to the Rainbow Ward at St Bernard’s Hospital and St Martin’s School in 2018.

Kaiane, the first woman to receive the Freedom of the City in Gibraltar, visited more than 40 countries during her reign.

Linor Abargil

After winning Miss World in 1998 , Linor Abargil (pictured left and right), eventually enrolled in law school, and made a documentary fighting sexual violence

Israeli Linor Abargil, who was born in 1980, won Miss World in 1998. Her victory came after she had signed with Look modeling agency in 1996. 

It also followed Linor being raped at knifepoint in 1998 while in Milan, an event which would inspire her to become a global advocate fighting against sexual violence. 

Despite the violence of the attack, and despite arresting the rapist, Italian authorities declined to prosecute and released the attacker.

The trauma of the attack made it difficult for Linor to deal with her public duties and fame after winning the Miss World title.

After frustration at the Italian authorities’ refusal to prosecute, Linor then reported the attack to Israeli authorities.

They were more proactive, issuing an arrest warrant for the rapist, and beginning extradition proceedings.

After her Miss World win, Linor continued modelling and did some acting. 

Eventually, however, she  decided to give up modelling and instead enrolled in law school, planning to use her education to fight sexual violence.

In 2008, Linor became the subject of a documentary she initiated about her rape and subsequent activism, titled Brave Miss World. 

Premiering on Israeli television in 2013 and screening at multiple film festivals in the United States and Europe throughout 2013 and 2014, the film was praised and nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Film.

Now a mother-of-four, Linor was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 2019.

Mary Stävin

Swede Mary Stävin was crowned Miss World in 1977. After being crowned, she had relationships with Don Shanks and George Best, and appeared in two James Bond films

Swede Mary Stävin, who was born in Örebro County in 1957 was crowned Miss World in 1977. 

After winning the pageant, she appeared in some of the most prolific films of all the winners.

She started her acting career seriously in the early 80s, with roles in two music videos Ant Rap and Strip – both for Adam Ant.

Mary also enjoyed appearances in two James Bond films: Octopussy, where she played an Octopussy girl, and A View to a Kill, playing agent Kimberley Jones, a larger role among other films. She also appeared in TV show Twin Peaks.

Famously, Bond Roger Moore wrote of the model and actress ‘floating away on board a submarine with Mary Stavin must be many men’s dream’. 

The win also meant she enjoyed a prolific dating life, seeing footballer Don Shanks from 1978 to 1982, and George Best from 1982 to 1985. The two worked together on an exercise album titled Shape Up and Dance.

Mary now lives in California with her second husband businessman Nicholas Wilcockson, who she wed in 1995, and the couple’s daughter.

Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite ‘Agbani’ Darego

Known widely as Agbani Darego, Nigerian Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite ‘Agbani’ Darego was the first black African woman to be crowned Miss World

Nigerian Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite ‘Agbani’ Darego was the first black African woman in the competition’s history to be crowned Miss World.

The model and beauty queen, who was born in 1982, was named winner of the competition in 2001 (she won Miss Universe that same year).

While she had some modelling experience before winning the competitions, after picking up the tandem crowns for Miss World and Miss Universe in 2001, her career skyrocketed.

Supermodel  Naomi Campbell invited her to take part in charity fashion Frock ‘n’ Roll in Barcelona, and she negotiated a modelling contract with American agency Trump Model Management.

Following her reign as Miss World, the London and Paris branches of Next Model Management represented her, winning her a three-year contract with L’Oréal (making her the second black model to do so).

The list of major brands Agbani has modelled for include Christian Dior and Sephora among many others.

Denise Perrier

After being crowned Miss France when she was 18-years-old, Denise Perrier, who was born in 1935 in France scooped the Miss World title

Denise Perrier, who was born in 1935, is the only French Miss World winner. The former French actress, model and beauty queen picked up the crown in 1953.

Both before and after the victory, she has enjoyed some impressive achievements. 

When she was 18 years old, Denise was invited to compete in the Miss Saint-Raphaël beauty pageant contest – which she won.

The victory led to her participation (and victory) in Miss France, then in 1953 she was crowned Miss World.

Following the victory, Denise appeared in a number of films, most memorably, 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever.

She had a total career change after giving up modelling, moving to local government, working for the Mayor of Nice Jacques Médecin.

Denise has judged a number of Miss World competitions, in 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Rosemarie Frankland

Rosemarie Frankland (pictured) won the Miss World crown in 1961, after finishing as a runner-up in the Miss Universe 1961 competition

Born in Wales in 1943, before moving to England as a child, Rosemarie enjoyed visiting a number of countries and throughout her lifetime (she died in 2000).

Rosemarie won the Miss World crown in 1961 (after previously finishing as a runner-up in the Miss Universe 1961 competition). 

Taking part in a lot of pageants, Rosemarie first won Miss Wales, before becoming Miss London in 1961.

She was crowned Miss Wales by Bob Hope who described her as ‘the most beautiful girl he had ever seen’.

She is said to have had an affair with Hope lasting many years, before becoming his personal assistant.

Meanwhile, professionally, she enjoyed a short acting career including a role in the 1965 film, I’ll Take Sweden starring Bob Hope.

Rosemarie married Grass Roots singer/guitarist Warren Entner in 1970, with the couple having a daughter together in 1976, before divorcing in 1981.

Ann Sidney

Hairdressing apprentice Ann Sidney was crowned Miss World in 1964, becoming an actress after her tenure

Born in the UK in 1944, Ann Sidney took a hairdressing apprenticeship before deciding she’d rather try her hand at modelling. 

She had some success and was crowned Miss World in 1964, becoming the second woman from her country to be crowned after Rosemarie Frankland.

Her reign as Miss World allowed her to see much of the world, and Ann travelled around the globe five times during her tenure – joining Bob Hope on his USO tour of Asia.

After giving up the title, Ann enjoyed a successful acting career.

Her credits included roles on the TV show The Avengers and Are You Being Served? among others.

She also appeared in a number of films, including (but not limited to) spy thriller Sebastian, and Performance (1970) with James Fox and Mick Jagger.

Reita Faria

Reita Faria, who won the Miss World title in 1966 ended up making a major career change, eventually practising medicine

Born in India in 1943, Reita Faria scooped the Miss World title in 1966, before her career took a major turn.

Reita is well-known for being the first winner of Miss World to qualify as a medical doctor.

As a tall adolescent, Reita was mocked and called ‘mommy long legs’, however, her height would go on to serve her well, both in playing sport at school and in her pageant career. 

Despite being offered a range of acting roles and lucrative modelling contracts during her year-long tenure a Miss World, she turned them down.

Instead, Reita studied medicine at the Grant Medical College & Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals followed by King’s College Hospital, London.

In 1971, she wed her mentor David Powell, with the couple moving to Dublin in 1973, where she started practising medicine.

Marjorie Wallace

1973 Miss World winner Majorie Wallace (pictured with Tom Jones) in 1976, three years after having her title removed by organisers

After being crowned in 1973, US winner Majorie Wallace, born in 1954, made history as the first American woman to be crowned Miss World.

While in the UK in the early 70s to compete for the crown, she defeated 53 competitors at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

And she enjoyed dating some of the most prolific celebrities, including George Best and Tom Jones

She would go on to make history 104 days later, but this time, for a more negative reason.

Organisers decided to take away her crown as punishment for having an affair, making her the first winner to lose her title this way, just 104 days after acquiring it. 

However, it did not stop the beauty pageant entrant, who was born in Indianapolis, from enjoying a career in entertainment.

As an original co-host, Majorie helped launch the television programme Entertainment Tonight some years later.

Moving to LA in the 70s, Marjorie appeared on several television programmes including Baretta, Get Christie Love! and Match Game. 

Helen Elizabeth Morgan 

Brit Helen Morgan, who was crowned in 1974, had her reign cut short after it was discovered that she was an unwed mother with a n 18-month-old son – despite this not being against the rules

The next winner, Brit Helen Morgan who was born in 1952 and was crowned in 1974, also made history, but for a different reason.

Helen became the first winner to resign, making her the second winner (after Marjorie, just one year before) to cut her reign short. 

The Staffordshire-based banker, who entered modelling competitions on a part-time basis, scooped both Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom in 1974.

Her victory in Miss United Kingdom allowed Helen to enter Miss World, which she went on to win.

However, after only four days, she became the subject of lurid headlines when it was discovered that she was an unwed mother with a n 18-month-old son. 

Despite not breaking competition rules, pressure from organisers, who felt embarrassed, led her to give up the title.

Although she lost the Miss World title, as Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom Helen decided to leave her role at the bank, taking up a career in modelling, TV and films instead.

JonBenét Ramsey’s ‘confessed killer’ Gary Oliva has been pictured out for the first time since he was released from prison for child pornography charges. 

Oliva, 60, admitted to killing the six-year-old beauty pageant star ‘by accident’ in confession letters exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com. 

The 60-year-old is a convicted pedophile was was previously serving a 10-year-sentence in a Colorado prison for child pornography, but was let out two years early and has been roaming freely since January 31. He has not been charged with her murder, despite his repeated confessions.

He was pictured on February 28 outside of the halfway house where he is currently residing in Denver, Colorado.

Wearing an all black outfit with his hood up, Oliva was seen standing with his hands in his pockets as he scowled and surveyed his surroundings in pictures first published by The U.S. Sun. 

Oliva, 60, admitted to killing the six-year-old beauty pageant star ‘by accident’ in confession letters exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com

The 60-year-old is a convicted pedophile was was previously serving a 10-year-sentence in a Colorado prison for child pornography, but was let out two years early and has been roaming freely since January 31

He was pictured on February 28 outside of the halfway house where he is currently residing in Denver, Colorado

At the time of Ramsey’s murder, Oliva frequently hung out at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center just 13 houses away from the Ramsey family

Oliva was caught in 2016 after he uploaded images depicting children being abused to his personal Gmail account on public Wi-Fi connections all over Boulder, Colorado.

He was found to be in possession of 695 images depicting child pornography on his phone.

The pedophile also had 335 photos of and relating to JonBenét.

The young pageant queen was found dead on December 26, 1996, after she was reported missing from her home in Boulder, Colorado.

Her parents, Patsy and John, had woken up early to get ready for a trip, when the mother discovered a ransom note on the stairs demanding $118,000 for their daughter’s safe return. 

Despite the note’s warning to not involve the authorities, Patsy immediately called the police and they arrived at the home at 5:55 am.

JonBenét was found dead in the basement of the home with an autopsy later revealing that her cause of death was strangulation.

Oliva was a longtime suspect in the murder case, and in letters sent to a high school classmate he admitted that he had killed JonBenét, but said it was an ‘accident’ and that she ‘slipped.’

Wearing an all black outfit with his hood up, Oliva was seen standing with his hands in his pockets as he scowled and surveyed his surroundings

Oliva was caught in 2016 after he uploaded images depicting children being abused to his personal Gmail account on public Wi-Fi connections all over Boulder, Colorado

The pedophile wrote in the letters: ‘JonBenét completely changed me and removed all evil from me. Just one look at her beautiful face, her glowing beautiful skin, and her divine God-body, I realized I was wrong to kill other kids. Yet by accident she died and it was my fault’

The pedophile, who was once jailed for trying to strangle his mother, wrote: ‘I never loved anyone like I did JonBenét and yet I let her slip and her head bashed in half and I watched her die. It was an accident. Please believe me. She was not like the other kids.’ 

In another letter, Oliva wrote, ‘JonBenét completely changed me and removed all evil from me. Just one look at her beautiful face, her glowing beautiful skin, and her divine God-body, I realized I was wrong to kill other kids. Yet by accident she died and it was my fault.’

The letters were sent to music publicist Michael Vail, a former high school classmate of Oliva’s.

In an interview with Dr. Oz, Vail was asked: ‘Are you concerned at all that because of a deeper mental illness or had she had another mental illness, Gary’s obsessed with JonBenét could be confab leading all this making it up?’

Guest commentator Nancy Grace interrupted, asking bluntly: ‘Did he say he wanted to eat JonBenét?’

‘Yeah,’ responded Vail.

That managed to stun Dr. Oz, who looked at his guest and said: ‘I’m sorry, say that again.’

Vail, who seems to be in disbelief himself, explained: ‘Yeah. I know it’s some pretty heavy duty stuff, he’s just talking about cannibalism.’

The young pageant queen was found dead on December 26, 1996, after she was reported missing from her home in Boulder, Colorado

Her parents, Patsy and John, had woken up early to get ready for a trip, when the mother discovered a ransom note on the stairs demanding $118,000 for their daughter’s safe return

Despite the note’s warning to not involve the authorities, Patsy immediately called the police and they arrived at the home at 5:55 am

JonBenét was found dead in the basement of the home with an autopsy later revealing that her cause of death was strangulation

The old classmate of Oliva then revealed other disturbing statements that he had overheard his friend say.

‘Gary would break into the University of Boulder Colorado. There was a skeleton in there and he wanted to taste what human bones would taste like,’ says Vail.

‘So he tried biting the skeleton and he told me how disappointed it was that was covered with shellac, and he couldn’t taste the bone.’

Oliva, who admitted his obsession with JonBenét, was homeless and sleeping on the streets of Boulder at the time of her killing.

He frequently visited the University of Colorado campus and hung in and around the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center, where he collected his mail and hung out with other homeless people in the parking lot, according to the US Sun.

The University of Colorado campus is less than a mile away from JonBenét’s home – and the church is just 13 houses away. 

There was a long alleyway running behind the properties that connected the church to the Ramsey’s house, meaning that someone could move between the two locations easily and potentially undetected.

JonBenét’s window was also visible from the alleyway.  

Despite Oliva’s confessions and his history of child sex abuse, there are other suspects in the unsolved case. 

Patsy Ramsey had been a longtime suspect in the death of her daughter, with conspiracists speculating that she lost her temper with the little girl and killed her, only to then try and cover it up with a fake ransom note.

Both Patsy and John were formally exonerated in 2008 thanks to developments in DNA technology, though many suspect that the mother still played a hand in her daughter’s death.

Patsy, who died in 2006, had her handwriting analyzed by experts to see whether it matched the writing on the ransom note.

John confirmed in December that a new handwriting analysis proves his wife’s innocence and further points to convicted pedophile Gary Oliva as the real perpetrator who killed his six-year-old pageant queen daughter. 

Patsy Ramsey had been a longtime suspect in the death of her daughter, with conspiracists speculating that she lost her temper with the little girl and killed her, only to then try and cover it up with a fake ransom note

The analysis focused on slant variations, pressure points, spacing, letter sizing, and further characteristics present in both documents.

Both experts agreed on consistent similarities, for instance the present in lowercase A’s found in both Oliva’s writing and the killer’s.

McCarty highlighted a pattern of flattened tops in the letter A over the traditionally more curved method as well as an overall similar shape

The garrote used to strangle the child beauty queen was still around her neck when her body was discovered

Two handwriting experts, Mozelle Martin and Dawn McCarty, conducted independent analyses obtained by The U.S. Sun, finding significant similarities between Oliva’s writing and the ransom note of the killer.

The bombshell report revealed a score of 1.75 on a scale of 1 to 5 – with 1 being a definitive, identical match to the ransom note.

McCarty told The U.S. Sun, ‘You can’t make this up…. two separate sets of documents by two different authors that have the exact same spacing and all the consistent inconsistencies, how could that possibly be?’

Another suspect in the murder of JonBenét was John Mark Karr, 58, who claimed 17 years ago that he was with JonBenét when she died.

He said her death was an ‘accident’ and that he had loved her and was ‘very sorry for what happened to JonBenét.’ 

John Mark Karr, then 42, was extradited from Thailand and arrested for the 1996 murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey

Karr was eventually released, over the objections of some FBI agents, when his DNA could not be matched to anything at the crime scene. Authorities said he knew details about the case that had not been released to the public 

In 2006, authorities extradited Karr from Thailand but were ultimately unable to link him to the scene of the crime and so felt compelled to release him.

In an interview with The Messenger, Karr said: ‘I am not crazy. I am not delusional.’

‘There’s so much more to my story,’ he said, adding that he has ‘been investigated by the FBI for many more crimes’ and is living outside the US ‘for my own safety.’

Though most ultimately dismissed Karr’s claims about being at the scene as elaborate lies, not everyone thought the tale was meritless.

‘Everyone was so quick to say that I was a liar or delusional,’ he said. ‘Did it ever occur to someone that I might have been trying to protect someone else?’

He declined to elaborate, but one possible explanation that some police were open to at the time is that Ramsey’s killer did not work alone.

When asked if he was with JonBenét when she died, or if he had killed her, Karr shut up and said he did not want to incriminate himself as the case continues to be investigated nearly 27 years after the crime.

• Lavinia, 11, made her debut in the Ideal Miss California & West Coast competition
• Petra Ecclestone, 35, called herself 'a very proud mother' on Instagram
• One follower suggested that beauty pageants are a 'pedo paradise'

By Charlotte Griffiths

Published: 5:00 PM EST, February 10, 2024 | Updated: 03:26 EST, February 11, 2024

Petra Ecclestone has come under fire for encouraging her eldest daughter to take part in a beauty pageant.

Lavinia, 11, made her debut in the Ideal Miss California & West Coast competition last Sunday, with the blessing of her mother, daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone.

Wearing a crown, a Disney princess-style ball gown, heels and a “Miss West Coast” sash, Lavinia took a turn onstage at the Downey Theater in Los Angeles and posed in full makeup for cameras and judges.

Petra, 35, the pageant's loving parent through and through, called herself “a very proud mother.”

She wrote to her 77,000 Instagram followers: “I am so privileged to be your mother, I will always encourage you to follow your dreams, never judge you and always love you.”

But judgment soon came, in great numbers. “This is crazy, she's just a kid,” one of Petra's followers responded. Another wrote: 'Why would you do this to your child?' Sam Palmer, Lavinia's stepfather, fired back: “She wanted that and we support her. I think that's what being a parent is all about.”

Petra Ecclestone (left) pictured with her daughter Lavinia (right)

Lavinia, 11, made her debut in the Ideal Miss California & West Coast competition last Sunday, with the blessing of her mother, daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone

One follower even suggested that beauty pageants are a 'pedo paradise' and warned Petra to keep Lavinia away.

The next phase of the competition will be held in June at the Beverly Hilton hotel. The Ideal Miss pageant costs £371 to enter and aims to 'celebrate girls by showcasing their strengths and maximizing their potential to prepare them for the future of life'.

But while defenders of the industry insist it gives young girls self-confidence, critics say beauty pageants are exploitative and reinforce the message that good looks are paramount.

Claude Knights, former director of child advocacy organization Kidscape, says pageants “signal to young girls that it's okay to value yourself on some superficial dimension. It's not about the whole person.'

But Lavinia may be trying to boost her self-confidence after a difficult start in life. At twenty months old, she was diagnosed with a learning speech delay, and became a nonverbal toddler, not speaking until she was almost four years old.

She no longer sees her father, James Stunt – a playboy businessman soon to stand trial for a second time on money laundering charges. When they got married, James forbade Petra from posting themselves or their children on social media. But since she remarried two years ago, Petra has built up a public profile again.

She is now preparing to launch an online pre-teen beauty and fashion boutique called Crickle Daisy, with Lavinia as the face of the brand.

A seven-year-old beauty queen who exercises several times a week and eats 'healthy' has developed a stunning six-pack.

Angel Heiman of Los Angeles said she first noticed her pageant-winning daughter, Kynlee, growing abs when she was just three years old.

The athletics toddler had been competing since she was two, before her mother decided to put her up for gymnastics – after which rigorous training left her increasingly thin and shredded.

To stay in top shape, Kynlee also follows a strict diet, with only room for a few 'treats' every now and then.

Still, Angel thinks muscular bodies run in the family.

“She works hard for it, but I think it also has to do with genetics as three of my other children are also muscular,” she said.

Angel Heiman of Los Angeles said she first noticed her pageant-winning daughter had abs when she was just three years old

The athletic toddler has been competing in and winning pageants since he was two

Her mother later suggested she take up gymnastics, after which she became increasingly thin and shredded through rigorous training

“Kynlee and one of her brothers are always competing to see who has the best abs.

“She loves them and is proud of how toned she is. She does a lot of abdominal exercises to keep them prominent.'

Angel entered Kynlee into her first beauty pageant at the age of two and could immediately tell that her daughter was a natural performer, even with very little training.

Angel also ran a cheer gym and quickly noticed how easily Kynlee picked up cheer routines just by watching and copying her mother.

Later, when the Covid pandemic hit, Angel used the extra time to teach her daughter more routines, and soon the pair were regularly exercising together at home using gymnastics equipment.

The more Kynlee learned, the more she fell in love with gymnastics and decided that one day she would take her skills to the Olympics.

By the time she turned five, she joined a gym where she could train properly and perfect her skills.

She now trains about four times a week, but sometimes also trains at home with her mother because that is more convenient.

Kynlee works out several times a week and eats a “healthy” diet to maintain the chiseled look

To stay in shape, Kynlee follows a strict diet, with room for only the occasional 'treat'

Angel thinks that muscular bodies run in the family, since Angel's brother also looks muscular

By the time Kynlee turned five, she joined a gym where she could train properly and perfect her skills

Angel revealed that Kynlee loves dressing in glamorous outfits, and even went to a nail salon for the first time when she was just two years old

Angel has witnessed her daughter's hard work ethic firsthand and says she isn't the least bit surprised by how muscular Kynlee has become.

She said: 'She works so hard for this and is proud of how strong she is. She inspires so many people.

'Kynlee is so small but so strong. I recently slept next to her in a hotel, and it was like sleeping next to a small brick. She's solid'.

Angel said it felt good to see Kynlee so happy, performing naturally and making everyone else around her happy while she did it.

Describing her daughter's bubbly personality, she added that she is over-the-top, but not in an unpleasant way, and that she always notices the needs of others.

She revealed that Kynlee loves dressing in glamorous outfits, and even went to a nail salon for the first time when she was just two years old.

Kynlee is now way beyond her mother when it comes to beauty skills and can create a full face of makeup that most adults would envy.

Angel described her daughter as “bubbly” and a bit exaggerated, but not in an unpleasant way

Angel has witnessed her daughter's hard work ethic firsthand and says she isn't the least bit surprised by how muscular Kynlee has become.

Kynlee trains about four times a week, but sometimes also trains at home with her mother because that is more convenient

The more Kynlee learned, the more she fell in love with gymnastics and decided that one day she would take her skills to the Olympics.

Angel described her daughter as lively and bubbly. Angel works hard to make sure trolling comments on social media don't get her down

Angel documents her daughter's exciting life on social media, which has more often than not drawn negative comments from trolls.

She said: 'I don't want to look back and think I had to hide my child because other people couldn't handle the way she looked.

'She sometimes gets negative comments about her six-pack on social media, but I delete them or just ignore them.

'I don't want to look back and think I had to hide my child because other people couldn't handle her. She is an inspiration.

'I don't regret sharing photos of her abs, but sometimes I don't want to hear other people's opinions about them.

'She trains hard and is strong, what should I do about it?'

The super strong seven-year-old eats a very healthy diet, which Angel insists she 'loves'.

“She also eats very healthily, which she likes to do,” Angel said.

'But she also likes cookies. She's so active all the time, it doesn't matter if she has treats.”

Looking ahead to Kynlee's bright future, she added: 'Kynlee can't wait to compete in gymnastics competitions now that she's old enough.

“She's still very focused on becoming an Olympic gymnast one day, and a famous actress when she's older.”

The defiant winner of Miss France said she is ‘not just a haircut’ after her stunning victory of the national beauty pageant was undermined by a bizarre ‘woke’ row over her ‘androgynous’ looks and short hair. 

Eve Gilles, 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern part of the country was crowned by previous winner Indira Ampiot in front of 7.5 million TV viewers Saturday night. 

But her win was overshadowed by peculiar backlash accusing the pageant of going ‘woke’ after the judges chose ‘androgynous’ Ms Gilles as Miss France 2024 after all previous winners featured more supposedly ‘traditional’ long, flowing hair and curves.

Now the defiant winner has said she is ‘not just a haircut’ as comments online mostly focused on her pixie cut hairstyle and her slim figure.  

‘I am human, inevitably criticism affects and hurts me. My body is the way it is. Whether I like it or not, that’s how I am. If people don’t like it, they don’t like me and that’s it,’ she told French outlet TF1.

‘You can’t please everyone and that’s normal. You have to accept yourself and ignore all the criticism even if it’s difficult.’

Ms Gilles previously said that pageant viewers were used to ‘seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair’. 

Now the defiant winner has said on French TV (pictured above) that she is ‘not just a haircut’ as comments online mostly focused on her pixie cut hairstyle and her slim figure

Eve Gilles (pictured), 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern part of the country was crowned Miss France Saturday night in front of 7.5 million TV viewers

The Miss France contestants performed on stage wearing matching bodysuits with golden tassels

Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Eve Gilles, was crowned Miss France 2024 on Saturday night

In her recent interview, she also said that she hopes there will come a time when her haircut isn’t the centre of attention. 

But the maths student also said it was ‘important’ to show that a lot of French women have short haircuts like hers and that they should be ‘represented’ in competitions like Miss France.

Ms Gilles had also praised her win as a win for ‘diversity’ and added: ‘No one should dictate who you are,’ she said after her victory Saturday night, adding that every ‘woman is different, we’re all unique.’

During a radio interview with French Fun Radio today, the charming 20-year-old said while she had been prepared for nasty comments, she was just ‘human’ and naturally they would affect her.

‘Now that I have the crown on my head, it’s too late. Whether people criticise me or not, it’s too late – now I’m here,’ she added.

The pageant winner is chosen half by a public vote and half by a jury. While Ms Gilles only came third in the public vote, the panel of judges pushed her into first place. 

But Ms Gilles, who wants to be a statistician, is the first winner in the 103-year history of the pageant who doesn’t have long hair – much to the dismay of some viewers.

‘Miss France is no longer a beauty contest but a woke contest which is based on inclusiveness,’ one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This was echoed by some others on Twitter, with one accusing Ms Gilles of ‘instilling wokist values into society’.

Ms Gilles decided not to directly address the ‘violent’ backlash, adding that she believes ‘the best response is silence’.

‘Maybe when everything is more settled in my head, I would want to speak but that is not the case at the moment,’ she told French outlet TeleStar. 

Other negative comments included one who said that she ‘doesn’t look anything like Miss France’ and that ‘we don’t care about her haircut but the androgynous body is obviously there to serve as woke’. 

However, the critical voices were soon drowned out by a wave of support for the newly crowned Miss France, who is studying Maths and Computer Science at Lille University. 

One fan wrote: ‘Maybe the new #MissFrance isn’t gorgeous in your eyes, but seeing wokeism in her because she has short hair…. It’s just ridiculous.’

Newly elected Miss France 2024 Eve Gilles reacts on stage after winning the title

She performed in a black costume with red embellishments during the final of the beauty pageant

Newly elected Miss France 2024 (centre left) poses for a selfie with President of the Jury Sylvie Tellier (centre right)

She was congratulated for her win by Miss France 2023 Indira Ampiot, who compared to her wore her hair in long waves

In a picture with other contestants shown on French channel direct5, Ms Gilles is wearing an orange bikini

Eve campaigned for ‘diversified’ beauty standards in the lead up to the final of the pageant, which has often been seen as sexist

Eve Gilles is pictured here with longer hair 

Eve Gilles during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant in Dijon, central-eastern France on December 16

Eve Gilles, 20, (centre) is pictured with longer hair. She was crowned Miss France Saturday night

Another added: ‘Eve Gilles is the new Miss France 2024, your malicious and useless criticisms won’t change that, she’s sublime.’ 

‘Eve Gilles isn’t even trans, has never claimed to be trans, but half of the comments about her are transphobic because she has short hair,’ a third said.

MP Sandrinne Rousseau also came to Ms Gilles’ defence and said: ‘So, in France, in 2023, we measure the progress of respect for women by the length of their hair?

Ms Rousseau also wears her hair in a pixie cut, which has become an important symbol as part of France’s MeToo movement. 

Another MP, Karima Delli, wrote: ‘Big support for Ève Gilles, #MissFrance2024, in the face of hateful tweets on social networks of incredible violence! 

‘Swallow your venom, she is not only superb, Miss Nord pas de Calais is intelligent in embracing her diversity!’

Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the communist party, also jumped in and wrote: ‘Support for Eve Gilles, elected Miss France, who is already suffering the violence of a society which does not accept that women define themselves in all their diversity.’

Even Marine Le Pen congratulated Ms Gilles on her victory on X. ‘Congratulations to Eve Gilles, Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais who becomes our new Miss France!,’ she said.

Ms Gilles, whose parents are from Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas region of France, had campaigned for ‘diversified’ beauty standards in the lead up to the final of the pageant, which has often been seen as sexist. 

‘I would like to show that the competition is evolving and society too, that the representation of women is diverse, in my opinion beauty is not limited to a haircut or shapes that we have… or not,’ the contestant said during the final as the Telegraph reported.

In November, she told French news outlet BFM Grand Lille: ‘I would especially like to defend the image of women, that they can do what they want, that they can be what whatever she likes.

Ms Gilles had campaigned for ‘diversified’ beauty standards in the lead up to the final of the pageant, which has often been seen as sexist (pictured: Ms Gilles in the final)

Miss France 2024, Eve Gilles, in front of the RFM Radio studios where she gave one of many interviews today

Runner-up and Dauphine, Miss Guyane Audrey Ho-Wen-Tsai (pictured), performs on stage during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant

Director of Miss France, Cindy Fabre (in white), and TV host Jean-Pierre Foucault (right) announced the selection of the semi-final contestants during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant

Miss Limousin, Agathe Toullieu, performs on stage during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant in Dijon

Eve Gilles, 20, was crowned as Miss France in front of 7.5 million TV viewers Saturday night

Contestants perform on stage during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant in Dijon

Ms Gilles was beaming on stage after she received her crown and a large bouquet of white flowers

‘I want to break the codes, to show that women can be diverse, that we don’t need to be put in boxes. That’s what I want to show.’ 

Ms Gilles, who was born in Dunkirk and has an Instagram page for her cat Princess Heidi, is the youngest of three sisters and said it was her grandfather who encouraged her to enter the competition. 

‘My family is really very important. It’s my little cocoon. We are very close, we did everything together,’ she said. 

Ms Gilles is studying Maths and Computer Science at Lille University and travels back to her family in Quaëdypre, near Dunkirk, every weekend. 

She had first started studying medicine ‘so as not to regret it later’ but ‘didn’t like it’, Ms Gilles said, adding that she worked in a factory to earn money.

But during the Miss France competition, Ms Gilles was criticised for her hair, her ‘lack of shape’ and ‘thinness’ online.

Actress Beatrice Rosen, who said she favoured another contestant, also jumped into the discussion online. 

‘I understand that there is a real ambient fed up with the wokism that they are trying to make us swallow 24/7, BUT, in the same way that we can criticize a religion but NOT the faithful, I find the sometimes nasty criticisms regarding Eve unfair and counterproductive. 

‘Attacking the physical is an attack below the belt, and putting the weight of the total ideological criticism of Wokism on a young woman of 20 is unfair.

‘This young woman is pretty, and feminine “despite” her short hair. I was and still am an admirer of the singular beauty of Audrey Hepburn, Linda Evangelista, or Jean Seberg, all 3 very thin with short hair, and who nevertheless are female icons who have been adored in the whole world.’

Ms Gilles, who was already criticised for her look before being crowned, said that she ‘didn’t want to look like a little girl anymore’ and that she wanted to set an example. ‘But I’m not at all a tomboy. I feel like a woman,’ she added. 

Ms Giles (third from left) was the only contestant in this year’s competition whose hair was cropped short

Some of the contestants performed a dance routine on stage wearing neon-coloured skirts and socks

The Miss France contestants dazzled in sequinned dresses in the semi-final

Miss Bourgogne Luna Lacharme performs on stage wearing a colourful two-piece with long skirt

The semi-final contestants including Ms Gilles (third from left) performed a dance routine wearing gold sequinned dresses

Other contestants like Second Dauphine (third place), Miss Provence Adelina Blanc, had long hair

Miss Guadeloupe, Jalylane Maes, performs on stage during Miss France 2024 

Fourth Dauphine, Miss Languedoc Maxime Teissier, performs on stage during the Miss France 2024 beauty pageant

Supporters for Ms Gilles (pictured here during the semi-final) include several French MPs

Eve Giles has been criticised since her Miss France victory due to her short hair 

Her victory comes less than a week after a court ordered a French broadcaster and television production house to compensate two previous Miss France finalists for secretly filming them and showing their bare breasts on air.

Both women, the court found, had been filmed in changing rooms ‘without their being informed’.

Alexia Laroche-Joubert, chief executive of Banijay France which owns the Miss France brand, defended the pageant as a symbol of ‘success’ and a ‘social elevator’ for contestants who have later become ‘businesswomen, doctors or film directors’.

The contest’s criteria have been ‘modernised’, she said, in that there is no longer an age limit for participants, who can now also be married or transgender.

To critics, however, the pageant’s evolution has been insufficient.

Melinda Bizri of the Human Rights League in Dijon, which called for a boycott of the ceremony, called the cosmetic changes ‘feminist-washing.’

‘Women have been abusing themselves all their lives to achieve these phantasmagorical criteria, according to patterns that take a very long time to deconstruct,’ she said.

‘Miss France is still just as sexist in the way it classifies women according to beauty criteria,’ added Violaine de Filippis, spokesperson the for Dare Feminism! association.

A former Miss USA contestant has revealed the three things she did to get in the best shape of her life before competing in the pageant.

Chelsea Hardin, 32, admits she was out of shape and lacking self-confidence when she was challenged to compete in the Miss Hawaii USA in 2016. However, after hiring a trainer and changing her diet, she transformed her body and she took the crown home.

The beauty queen, who is now a fitness coach, trained for another four months for the Miss USA 2016 pageant before being named first runner-up to Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia.

The beauty queen said she was the skinniest she had ever been as she took to the stage in a white bikini and nude platform heels

Hardin was named first runner-up to Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia

“This is me competing for Miss USA in Las Vegas after winning Miss Hawaii USA, and this is definitely the skinniest I’ve ever been,” she said.

Hardin explained that she did three things to lose body fat and get stronger for the pageant.

“First you have to pay attention to your diet,” she advised. “Get rid of all the packaged foods, high sugar and inflammatory oils, and eat clean.”

The fitness guru said, “It doesn’t matter how much body fat you need to lose” or “how much muscle mass you need to gain,” the majority of your success will come from your diet.

Second, Hardin said you need to move your body, but she admitted she no longer has the time to exercise like she did when she was preparing for the pageant.

“I had time and energy and effort and the will and motivation to become that way during that period,” she said. “Obviously I don’t have that much time to put into that right now, so my body looks different now as a mom.”

But whether you’re training for a competition or just want to get in shape, she explained that consistency is key.

“It’s not about that one good workout or that one good salad,” she said. ‘I was consistent. I trained for four months after winning Miss Hawaii USA. I trained hardcore. I was strict.’

Hardin reiterated that this routine is only for someone who wants to “lean out” and has “very little body fat.”

Hardin explained how she lost body fat and toned up for the pageant in a video shared on TikTok, in which she said you need to clean up your diet and exercise consistently

Hardin was admittedly out of shape and lacking self-confidence when she was challenged to compete in the 2016 Miss Hawaii USA

After hiring a trainer and changing her diet, she transformed her body and was crowned Miss Hawaii 2016

Hardin, who has been staying in great shape, added that it’s also important to prioritize sleep and stay hydrated while exercising.

“Find what works for you to be consistent in the gym,” she said. “Show up four to five times a week and keep those rest days.”

Hardin ended her video by emphasizing the importance of prioritizing sleep and staying hydrated, saying that many women make the mistake of putting these habits aside while exercising.

“No matter how hard you train in the gym, no matter how clean your diet is, if you don’t rest your body, if you don’t stay hydrated, it’s going to be very difficult to see any changes,” she said. .

“So if you want to lean out, if you want to lose body fat, be intentional and focus on these three things,” she concluded.

Hardin’s video has been viewed nearly 473,000 times and received more than a hundred comments.

Many people wanted to know more about her workout routine and diet, and she was happy to answer their questions.

The model explained that she strength trained four to five times a week and did 30 minutes of cardio three times a week to prepare for the pageant.

As for her diet, she said she counted macronutrients, namely carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

‘The right ratio helps change your body composition!’ she said.

Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios has been crowned Miss Universe 2023 at the 72nd annual beauty pageant held in San Salvador last night – making history as the first delegate from Nicaragua to win the title.

In addition to Sheynnis’ victory, the event saw several more historic firsts, including two mother candidates, two transgender women and a plus-size individual. 

Sheynnis, 23, pipped Anntonia Porsild of Thailand for the prestigious title, and looked elated as she was crowned by last year’s winner, USA’s R’Bonney Nola Gabriel.

Two trans women featured at the pageant this year. Rikkie Kollé, a 22-year-old LGBTQIA+ rights activist who was crowned Miss Netherlands in July and Miss Portugal’s Marina Machete, 23, who works as cabin crew, and was named as her country’s entry in October. 

Mothers, married women and divorcees were allowed to compete for the first time after a rule change in 2022, with Miss Colombia, Camila Avella, and Miss Guatemala, Michelle Cohn, the first women with children to make the finals.

Elsewhere, Miss Nepal, Jane Dipika Garrett, who had been tipped to win, became the first plus-sized model to enter, although she was eliminated before the final round. 

Also eliminated at the same stage was Pakistan’s first entry into the competition, Erica Robin, who wore a burkini in the swimsuit round. 

The winners of the national pageants from 84 countries participated in this year’s Miss Universe, judged by a panel that included model Halima Aden and ‘Queer Eye’ star Carson Kressley, TikTok influencer Avani Gregg and two former Miss Universe winners, Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago (Miss Universe 1977) and Iris Mittenaere of France (Miss Universe 2016).

On the coronation night, Sheynnis consistently progressed to the next rounds, with strong performances in both the swimsuit segment and the evening gown competition.

During the Top 5 question and answer segment, she was asked about the qualities and values that guide her as a leader and role model for others. 

Left, Rikkie Kollé, 22, is an LGBTQIA+ rights activist and transgender woman who was crowned Miss Netherlands in July. Right: The other trans contestant this year was Miss Portugal’s Marina Machete, 23, who works as cabin crew and was named her country’s entry in October

Trans contestant Miss Portugal Marina Machete strikes a pose during the 72nd Miss Universe Competition

Rikkie Kollé, a trans woman representing The Netherlands in the competition, uses her platform to fight for LGBTQ+ rights

The competition included the first ‘curvy’ contestant to reach the pageant’s semi-finals, Miss Nepal (right) and the first contestant to wear a burkini swimsuit, Miss Pakistan (left)

Sheyniss is a mental health activist and audiovisual producer from Managua, Nicaragua

Her response was: ‘The quality that has inspired me and has inspired millions of women and girls is humility and the ability to appreciate the little things, because that’s where the most valuable thing is: the essence of being a human.’

After reaching the Top 3, alongside Thailand’s Anntonia Porsild and Australia’s Moraya Wilson, Sheynnis was asked: ‘If you could live one year in another woman’s shoes, who would you choose and why?’

Her winning answer was: ‘I would choose Mary Wollstonecraft, because she opened the gap to give an opportunity to many women.

‘What I would do is to have that income gap open up so women could work in any area that they choose to work in because there are no limitations for women. That was 1750. Now in 2023 we are making history.’

In the competition, Sheynnis chose mental health as her advocacy, drawing from her personal experiences with anxiety.

Hailing from a country where this issue is rarely addressed, she started an initiative called ‘Understand Your Mind’, which involves interviewing specialists on emotional care in her television segments.

Sheynnis, 23, pipped Anntonia Porsild of Thailand for the prestigious title

She looked elated as she was crowned by last year’s winner, USA’s R’Bonney Nola Gabriel

Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios has made history as the first delegate from Nicaragua to win the title

Sheynnis was passed a huge bouquet of flowers to congratulate her on her victory

Additionally, the 23-year-old has organised events and other audiovisual projects centered on the theme of mental health.

According to the Miss Universe organisation, Sheynnis’ goal in life is to ‘work in the service of humanity, by running a newsroom and producing content and commercials for international brands.’

Sheynnis outshone the 83 other candidates, making history as the first delegate from Nicaragua to win the Miss Universe title. 

However, she is no stranger to pageantry, having started competing in national pageants at the age of 16. 

Sheynnis clinched the title of Miss Teen Nicaragua in 2016 and achieved a Top 10 placement in the Miss Teen Universe pageant. In 2020, she secured victory in the Miss World Nicaragua pageant and once again represented her country at the Miss World 2021 edition, where she earned a place in the Top 40.

Her extensive pageantry experience made her one of the frontrunners for the Miss Universe 2023 competition, with numerous pageant pages and experts including the Nicaraguan beauty queen in their top picks.

Before the Miss Universe 2023 coronation night, Sheynnis took to Instagram to reflect on her journey.

‘Tonight, I dedicate it to my inner girl and to each of the girls who yearn to fulfill this dream, even the sky itself is the limit, a dream so big that people think it is impossible to achieve. Because that is where you know that your dreams and goals will exceed obstacles, and remember to accompany them with determination, perseverance, and passion,’ she wrote.

The beauty queen impressed with her captivating demeanor during the swimsuit segment

The mental health advocate sported a dazzling silver evening gown and tiara

Sheynnis welcomed last year’s winner on to the stage to present the crown

The final three candidates: Anntonia  Porsild of Thailand, Moraya Wilson of Australia and  Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua

Miss Nicaragua could not believe it when she was crowned Miss Universe

The new beauty queen was crowned by last year’s winner, USA’s R’Bonney Nola Gabriel

Miss Nicaragua scoops Miss Universe 2023 at pageant full of historical firsts

Miss Nicaragua sheds tears of joy as she is crowned Miss Universe 

Sheynnis was beaming as she looked to the cheering audience

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios is crowned as Miss Universe 2023 during the 72nd Miss Universe Competition

Sheynnis Palacios looked breathtaking as she walked onstage during the event

Her evening gown sparkled under the lights as she waved to the audience 

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios competed with several other countries

Miss Nicaragua reacts after being called in the top 20 finalists during the Miss Universe coronation ceremony in San Salvador

John Legend performed during the coronation ceremony on 18 November

Top 10 finalist Miss Spain Athenea Perez parades during the Miss Universe coronation ceremony in San Salvador

Newly elected Miss Universe 2023 Sheynnis Palacio of Nicaragua attended a press conference afterwards

In the preliminary competition, the beauty queen impressed the audience with her dazzling gown and captivating demeanor during the swimsuit segment.

But it was her national costume – a purple and black ensemble inspired by the Nicaraguan grackle bird species El Zanate – that garnered attention online.

Apart from the elaborate costume, which included wings and a headpiece, Sheynnis made a lasting impression on the runway by kneeling and gracefully flapping her costume’s wings.

Sheynnis, who has a degree in Mass Communications from the Universidad Centroamericana, serves as a television host on a local channel. She is proficient in three languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English. 

Her favourite sport is volleyball and she’s happiest when watching the sunset. The beauty queen also noted she couldn’t live without her family or pets.  

Within an hour of Saturday night’s event, 20 semi-finalists were announced based on the results of the preliminary competition and a global fan vote. 

Then, after the swimsuit segment, the group was culled to 10 – including competitors from Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela, as well as the eventual top three.

The evening gown round halved the number of contestants further. 

After two rounds of hot-topic questions from the selection committee, the Miss Universe top three were announced: Sheynnis, Anntonia and the second runner-up Moraya Wilson of Australia.

After updating its eligibility rules last year, married women and mothers were allowed to compete in Miss Universe for the very first time – held at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena.

For the last 70 years, the pageant was only available to women who had never been married or had children, but now, both mothers and married women can enter the pageant.

‘We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human’s personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success,’ an internal memo obtained by The National said.

Josh Yugen, the national director of Miss Universe, said ‘The Miss Universe Organisation is always the greatest and most innovative platform of its kind and now it will be more inclusive and welcoming to mothers and married women.

‘For me, this is aligned with what I have been fighting for – breaking stereotypes and unlearning the stigma that the old society has forced on us from many many decades ago.’

The influencer and Instagram model has signed up to compete in this year’s Miss Venezuela contest.

Caracas, Venezuela: Venezuelan enthusiasm for beauty pageants is unparalleled, and Miss Venezuela – the crown jewel of them all – may be the only event that can unite the deeply divided country. Once a year, class, race and politics are pushed aside as the South American nation tunes in to see who will represent Venezuela on the world stage.

Behind the cheers and claps for the women vying for the coveted title is a deeply conservative society that has little to no tolerance for challenging heteronormative norms. Sofia Salomón is ready to challenge that.

The influencer and Instagram model has signed up to compete in this year’s Miss Venezuela contest. If accepted, she would be the first transgender woman to compete.

“I think it’s a great platform to make my community visible, show the positives and show people the reality of transgender women,” said Salomón.

With no end in sight to the ongoing crisis that has pushed millions of Venezuelans into poverty and 7.3 million to migrate, LGBTQ+ rights are hardly a topic at the table for families or a dominant campaign issue in the race to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. 2024 to overthrow.

Sunday’s planned Pride march in the capital Caracas may draw hundreds of people, but there is almost no acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community across the country, unlike some other Latin American countries with conservative, Roman Catholic values. And Venezuelans who often idolize the European lifestyle have largely resisted the broad integration of that continent’s community and rejection of homophobia and transphobia.

Venezuela’s top court in May repealed a law punishing consensual behavior by same-sex military personnel, but waited seven years to rule on a case that aims to give same-sex couples the right to marry.

It also did not rule on Tamara Adrian’s case, which she brought to court in 2004. The transgender woman legally wants to change her name and gender on her birth certificate and in public records. The government says the law already allows it, but Adrian and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which investigates human rights violations in the hemisphere, disagree. She has requested hearings and filed more than 30 pleas in her case with no response.

Nevertheless, in 2015 Adrian became the country’s first transgender legislator, representing a district in Caracas, and in June this year she ran in the opposition presidential primary, hoping to oust Maduro.

“To see changes in social affairs, the state has to implement public policies, and in that sense there is undoubtedly a breakthrough of changes (in other Latin American countries) that you cannot see in Venezuela,” Adrian said. “There’s often not even an awareness here that a particular sentence is racist or homophobic or transphobic or misogynistic.”

Last year, Salomón finished in the top six of Miss International Queen, the world’s largest beauty pageant for transgender women. At the event, she mentioned the law Adrian is fighting against.

“I would like that law to be changed so that transgender women can be accepted by whatever name they feel more secure,” she said.

In February, a transgender woman was selected to compete in Miss Universe in Puerto Rico – a first for the Caribbean island – boosting Salomón’s hopes for her participation in the contest in Venezuela. She said her parents, siblings and boyfriend are supportive of her decision to apply, and the comments and emojis on her Instagram posts have been overwhelmingly positive.

The Miss Venezuela Organization did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Miss Venezuela winners advance to Miss Universe, and the global contest was opened to transgender people in 2012. That decision led Osmel Sousa, then-head of Miss Venezuela, to declare that “the humble, Christian Venezuelan public will never accept that position. ”

Marcia Ochoa, an associate professor of feminist critical race and ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz, applauded Salomón’s efforts.

“She’s doing something that makes a lot of sense for a Venezuelan person,” Ochoa said, insisting that Venezuelan culture has room for a quirky gender identity: miss. “You can see someone and say whether or not they are in beauty pageants because they look like a beauty pageant contestant. You can say, ‘es toda una miss.’” The sentence sums up a true Venezuelan compliment that a perfectly composed woman is “definitely a Miss (Venezuela).”

In 2018, Angela Ponce of Spain became the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe, and last year a Thai business magnate and transgender woman purchased the Miss Universe Organization — once part-owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump — for $20 million.

Miss Venezuela winners earn instant fame that can lead to positions of influence. 1981 Miss Universe winner Irene Sáez later became mayor of a municipality in Caracas, and ran for president in 1998, losing to Hugo Chávez.

Josefina Mejia, a resident of Caracas, has been watching Miss Venezuela with family and friends for decades. They pick favorites and have a friendly competition over whose pick will win. Mejia, 65, said she is not against Salomón’s efforts, but would rather see transgender women stay out of the fight.

“This is a conservative society and sometimes we judge people even though we shouldn’t judge,” Mejia said. “I would like to have a separate contest for that gender.”

The activist-led Venezuelan Observatory on LGBTIQ+ Violence reported at least 97 cases of violence against community members across the country in 2022, including 11 murders. The numbers are probably an underestimate because so many cases go unreported. In at least 10% of cases a formal complaint was made to the authorities.

Salomón, who is interested in a career in real estate, received a confirmation email that the Miss Venezuela organization had received her application, but she still doesn’t know if she has been accepted. She said she thinks her modeling and pageant experience gives her an advantage over other contestants.

“I believe that experience is not improvised,” said Salomón. “That’s why people trust me to make history in the country.”

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