On Friday, a biological male who identifies as a “transgender woman” was crowned Miss Portugal and will go on to compete in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.
The winner, Marina Machete, is a 28-year-old flight attendant, according to Outkick. Ahead of his win on Friday, Machete wrote on Instagram that he is “proud to be the first trans woman to compete for the title of Miss Universe Portugal.”
“For many years I wasn’t eligible to compete and now it’s such an honor to be a part of this incredible group of candidates!” Machete wrote.
“El Salvador, see you soon!” Machete wrote after he won the competition.
A Biological Man has been crowned Miss Universe Portugal and will now compete in the Miss Universe pageant.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) October 7, 2023
Marina Machete won the women’s beauty pageant on Thursday beating dozens of women to the crown and will become the 2nd male to participate in the upcoming Miss Universe… pic.twitter.com/KI8aLjcswl
Machete will not be the only biological male competing in the Miss Universe pageant. In July, Townhall reported how Rikki Valerie Kolle, 22, won Miss Netherlands.
“I'm so proud and happy I can't even describe it,” Kolle wrote after he won. “Making my community proud and showing it can be done.”
Daily Mail previously reported that in 2018, Angela Ponce from Spain became the first transgender person to compete for the Miss Universe title. Since 2012, the outlet added, men who believe they are transgender have been allowed to compete for the title.
In the United States, some men who believe they are women have won beauty pageants. Townhall covered this year how Brian Nguyen, (pronounced Bree-Ann), who is “trans,” won a competition in New Hampshire to be titled “Miss Greater Derry 2023.”
Following this series of wins in beauty pageant competitions, the Miss Italy competition’s official patron, Patrizia Mirigliani, announced that transgender males who identify as women will not be allowed to compete.
"Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd," Mirigliani stated, according to Newsweek. "Since it was born, my competition has foreseen in its regulation the clarification according to which one must be a woman from birth. Probably because, even then, it was foreseen that beauty could undergo modifications, or that women could undergo modifications, or that men could become women."