The Miss Italy beauty pageant has reaffirmed its stance on not allowing transgender women to compete. The decision comes in the wake of the recent crowning of the first transgender woman, Rikkie Valerie Kollé, in the Miss Netherlands contest.

Patrizia Mirigliani, the official patron of Miss Italy, stated in an interview with Radio Cusano that contestants “must be a woman from birth.” She added, “Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd.”

Mirigliani further explained that the competition’s rules have always specified that one must be a woman from birth, anticipating that beauty could undergo modifications, or that women could undergo modifications, or that men could become women.

This stance has drawn attention and criticism, particularly given the increasing acceptance of transgender rights in many Western nations. A poll conducted by the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute in 2016 found that a majority in 21 out of 23 countries, including Italy, “support policies banning discrimination against transgender people.”

source trendingpolitics.com