In a historic win, American trans woman Jazell Barbie Royale was crowned Miss International Queen at the annual trans beauty pageant in Thailand. This makes her the first Black contestant to win the title in the competition’s 15-year history.
In an interview with Travel News Asia prior the grand finals, Jazell talked about the significance of her victory. “There is no one else in the pageant that has won that looks like me, there is no one in the pageant that looks like me. I would be able to inspire so many other people out there,” she said. She further hopes that her win would inspire other trans people of color to compete in the pageant.
Moreover, as a community leader and HIV activist, she also plans to use her title to raise awareness over HIV and medications such as PrEP and PEP. “There are a lot of living with HIV but don’t go to get treatment,” she said. And of course, she wants to continue fighting for transgender rights. “I want them to see that we are beautiful, we are educated, we are talented,” she said.
Spoken like a true queen. Congratulations, Jazell!
Photo courtesy of Miss International Queen’s Instagram account
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