This Activist Had an Inspiring Response to Miss Italy Organizers Banning Transgender Contestants

In recent years, beauty pageants worldwide have embraced transgender contestants. For example, in 2018 Angela Ponce became the first trans woman to compete in the Miss Universe pageant and Kataluna Enriquez became the first trans woman to compete in the Miss USA pageant three years later. Just this summer, Rikkie Kollé became the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands.

However, on the heels of Rikkie Kollé’s victory, one high-ranking pageant official publicly pushed back on this progress. In late July, the Miss Italy pageant’s patron, Patrizia Mirigliani, stated that Miss Italy contestants must be “a woman from birth” and suggested that trans contestants were “strategies” of pageants “trying to make the news.”

In response to Mirigliani’s comments, an unexpected and empowering protest has emerged. Italian trans activist Federico Barbarossa decided to enter the Miss Italy pageant using his deadname. After sharing the confirmation of his registration in the pageant on social media, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit shared the post and encouraged other trans men to do the same. Barbarossa estimates that over 100 trans men have since registered to participate in the pageant, sending a powerful message of inclusivity, understanding, and acceptance.

While the Miss Italy pageant’s initial stance may have seemed to discourage inclusivity, it has ultimately helped raise awareness of the fact that, as Barbarossa put it to NBC News, blocking trans women from competing sends the message that “trans women are not women” and results in transphobia.