A Danish beauty queen has won the title of Miss Universe, and many are already making fun of the fact that the winner is a biological woman.
After a spectacular performance in the 73rd Miss Universe final in Mexico City, 21-year-old Victoria Kjaer Theilvig took over the title on Saturday night.
After the 2023 tournament included married, plus-sized, and transgender competitors, she outperformed more than 120 other competitors to achieve this.
Even though the pageant was recently purchased by a Thai media tycoon who is an outspoken advocate for transgender rights, this year’s was more conventional.
The first trans woman, Marina Machete of Portugal, placed in the top 20 last year after the competition was criticized for what many saw as an antiquated definition of beauty.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, was the first transgender person to win Miss Netherlands a few months before.
A few years before, Angela Ponce, the first openly trans woman to win Miss Spain, cleared the path for them by becoming the first trans woman to compete in Miss Universe.
The reaction on Saturday night, when many quipped that they were shocked to see a non-transgender winner, seemed to be influenced by the changing ideals.
To his more than two million followers, well-known political pundit Matt Wallace stated, “BREAKING: Fans shocked after straight, white, biological woman wins Miss Universe 2024.”
“Reality has just returned!” Denmark, congrats!’ said another. “The woke virus is on the run, and the tides are turning.” Someone another said, “Hold the line.”
“Return to normalcy,” another person remarked. Given the ongoing discussion around the sanctity of certain all-female competitions, the most of the replies seemed to have been offered in jest.
I think of the controversy surrounding Algerian fighter Imane Khelif, who won a gold medal, and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, who is now well-known for her association with Bud Light.
Khelif was mistakenly classified as transgender by far-right groups, whereas Mulvaney was born a guy but has subsequently changed to a female identity.
Khelif was excluded from the 2023 world championships after failing vague and obvious eligibility checks, despite the fact that her passport states that she was designated female at birth.
Since then, conservatives like Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and soon-to-be President Donald Trump have voiced their disapproval of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) qualifying requirements for fighters.
After the IBA, one of boxing’s sanctioning organizations, barred Khelif from the 2023 world championship final because of “high levels of testosterone” in her system,
Both politicians have cited discrepancies between the IOC and the sport’s regulatory body. Since then, the circumstances surrounding that exclusion have come under examination.
Khelif has sued the French media over accusations that the 25-year-old has XY (male) chromosomes, calling the whole thing “a big conspiracy.”
Mulvaney said at the time, “I came to London on vacation this summer after months of feeling isolated and when I arrived,
I didn’t feel that baggage that I was carrying back in the US.” I also didn’t feel like the beer girl who is transgender. I envisioned our nation as a secure haven.
The ‘baggage’ she had alluded to was the negative reaction of American viewers who were put off by the idea of a transsexual lady appearing on the cans of their preferred beer.
Fans of the Miss Universe pageant, which was purchased for $20 million last year by Thai entrepreneur and transgender advocate Anne Jakkapong Jakrajutatip, displayed a similar lack of enthusiasm on Saturday.
She welcomed many transgender competitors to the pageant last year, including Machete and Kolle, the first woman to possess the title. In July 2023, Kolle became the first trans woman to win the title of Miss Netherlands.
The former, on the other hand, performed well enough to go to the finals before falling short against Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua, Theilvig’s predecessor.
The 29-year-old flight attendant, Machete, thanked fans for the “positive and empowering” comments she got after winning the title of “Miss Portugal” a few weeks before. In an Instagram video at the time, she said,
“To all of you watching, I just want to say that, just like the universe, your possibilities in life are limitless.” “Therefore, don’t confine yourself to any one of your dreams.
“While Mulvaney was controversially selected ‘Woman of the Year’ by British magazine Attitude around this time last year, she went on to win Olympic gold despite the gender eligibility controversy.
At an awards ceremony in October 2023, the London-based journal gave Mulvaney the title, which prompted a long speech.
Mulvaney, 27, said at the time, “Some see me as the woman of the year, some see me as a woman of a year and some change.”
“And some people don’t even consider me a woman.” She continued by stating that she just “publicly came out online 560 days ago”
Before becoming well-known due to her “Days of Girlhood” TikTok series, which followed her transition. She continued to rave about how “grateful”
She was that the award was being handed in the UK instead of the US before bringing up the then-developing controversy over a later Bud Light sponsorship.
