Dreams take centre stage at transgender beauty pageant
Competitors came from around the world for the Miss International Queen 2012 pageant. While for some it was a chance to strut their stuff in a welcoming environment, for others it represented a chance to realise lifelong aspirations of fully becoming women
- Published: 11 Nov 2012 at 02.38
- Newspaper section: News
`My, you are an interesting group. Welcome to our gallery of glamour,'' booms the PA, on a loop of audience platitudes across banks of empty seats. The stage is a flurry of flustered stylists, choreographers desperately rehearsing lip-syncing routines, jostling film crews and contestants milling around in sequinned silk dressing gowns. This is the dress rehearsal for the world's most arresting beauty pageant. Twenty-one transgender women from 17 different countries have earned the right to compete in Miss International Queen 2012.
The contestants, from as far afield as Brazil, Angola and Japan make up an eclectic mixture of dancers, university students, theatre managers and even a bank executive. Some, like model Kevin Balot from the Philippines. are here for ``a bit of fun''.
``I want to prove the Philippines has the best transsexuals in the world,'' she says, smiling.
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