Transgender pageant a statement against discrimination as much as a night of glamour

Miss International Queen contestants speak out against transphobia, with Miss Trans Brazil Ariella Moura talking about the friends who have been murdered

Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire won this year’s international pageant in Pattaya, where contest brought welcome business amid fallout from coronavirus pandemic

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First runner-up Ruethaipreeya Nuanglee of Thailand (left), winner Valentina Fluchaire of Mexico and second runner-up Ariella Moura of Brazil at the Miss International Queen contest in Thailand. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:00am, 13 Mar 2020Updated: 12:10pm, 13 Mar 2020

After her friends were killed in transphobic attacks in Brazil, Ariella Moura decided she wanted to make a statement against gender discrimination at the world’s top transgender pageant in Thailand.

The annual Miss International Queen pageant brings together international contestants who are not only showcasing their beauty but also spreading a defiant message for equality across the globe.

On Saturday, the 2020 winner, Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire, was presented her sash and tiara by Jazell Barbie Royale of the United States, who took the prize in 2019.

For 22-year-old Moura, one of the night’s finalists, the evening was about far more than performing well.

Miss Mexico, Valentina Fluchaire, walks in her national costume during the Miss International Queen contest in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: EPA

“People are open-minded in Brazil for a lot of things, but it is a big country … and, for sexuality, people are discriminated [against] a lot. I know a lot of friends who were murdered,” said Moura, who was crowned Miss Trans Brazil in 2019.

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