How starring in Miss Tiffany’s pageant show can change a Thai trans beauty queen’s life
The annual Miss Tiffany’s Universe Pageant is a celebration of the nation’s ‘trans’ population and works to promote human rights and fight discrimination
Thailand has up to 100,000 “trans” people or ladyboys. They are a hot topic now because the kingdom looks set to ban discrimination based on gender identity. The boldest expression of Thailand’s liberal take on the sexual self must be Miss Tiffany’s Universe pageant.
“I am so very proud of my gender,” says performer Pimnara Atipatdechakorn, or Sand, the second runner-up in last year’s gala, adding that she is a mix of man and woman – strong and soft.
During Sand’s younger days, her family were unnerved by her orientation, but now because of her pageant success, they are happy, says Sand, 24. Appearing on stage at the famed Phuket beauty pageant was her dream, she adds, then describes the effect.
“It’s really changed my life – changed my mind and changed my thinking,” she says. Before, she felt like a kid. Now, thanks to her success in the contest for under-25s only, she has matured, she says.
The fashion graduate from Rajamangala University of Technology in Bangkok serves as a freelance model and a flag-wielding “colour guard” in a marching band that has represented her country. She does jazz dance, she runs twice a week and forgoes meat during Tiffany’s to detox.
When an initially unsuspecting man Sand meets sees that she is a “katoey”, she does not care how he reacts, “because I am what I am”. Her perfect partner is a good man with a good heart. Any would-be boyfriend must have those qualities, she says, adding that handsomeness is unimportant.
