Vietnamese crowned queen in Thai transgender beauty pageant

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Newly crowned Vietnam's Nguyen Huong Giang (C) waves after winning the annual transgender beauty contest of Miss International Queen 2018 at Pattaya city, in Chonburi province, Thailand, on March 9, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:52am, 10 Mar 2018Updated: 11:16pm, 10 Mar 2018

Vietnam’s Nguyen Huong Giang was crowned “Miss International Queen” in Thailand on Friday at one of the world’s top beauty pageants for transgender women.

The red-dressed winner fended off 26 competitors, from countries spanning Mongolia to Mexico, to clinch the coveted crown in the seaside town of Pattaya, where the popular contest has been running since 2004.

While the competition is fierce, contestants say the pageant also offers an opportunity for camaraderie among trans women who hail from different backgrounds but share similar stories of discrimination back home.

Newly crowned Vietnam's Nguyen Huong Giang (C), with first runner up Australia's Jacqueline (R) and second runner up Thailand's Rinrada Thurapan, (L) during the annual transgender beauty contest of Miss International Queen 2018 at Pattaya city, in Chonburi province, Thailand, on March 9, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ahead of the coronation late Friday, the diverse group of competitors packed into a bustling dressing room to lacquer on lipstick and primp their hair as an army of stylists buzzed around them.

“This is my first international experience of coming to pageant where it is really a big exposure to all my trans sisters all over the world,” Nitasha Biswas, from India, told AFP after making the final adjustments to a sparkling beige dress.