Angela Ponce Is The First Trans Woman To Compete In The Global Miss Universe Pageant
For the first time in the history of the iconic Miss Universe pageant, a transgender woman will compete for the crown.
Angela Ponce, 26, won Spain’s Miss Universe competition on June 29, beating out 22 other contestants for the coveted spot. Ponce, who lives in Seville, Spain, will compete in the worldwide Miss Universe contest set in the Philippines in December.
“Bringing the name and colors of Spain before the universe is my great dream,” Ponce wrote on Instagram after she won. “My goal is to be a spokesperson for a message of inclusion, respect and diversity not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but also for the entire world.”
A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Jun 27, 2018 at 11:24am PDT
Transgender women were barred from competing in Miss Universe up until five years ago. In 2012, Canada’s Jenna Talackova was barred from competing because she was trans, but with the help of attorney Gloria Allred, she legally challenged the rule and got it overturned. The ban was lifted in 2013.
“Let’s make history,” Ponce tweeted two days after she won Spain’s Miss Universe title.
Ponce competed on the Miss World Spain stage in 2015 but lost to Miss Barcelona Mireia Lalaguna.
“Society is not educated for diversity, it’s what made me go public, I mean, here I am and I’m not weird,” Ponce told Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos at the time, according to Newsweek. “I just have a different story, a woman who came to life differently but I’m a woman.”
A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Jul 5, 2018 at 2:23am PDT
A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Jul 2, 2018 at 1:19pm PDT
A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Jul 3, 2018 at 3:24pm PDT
A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Jul 3, 2018 at 1:28pm PDT
Head over to Ponce’s Instagram or Twitter feed to learn more about her.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.