Outrage as trans women are barred from Miss Italy pageant

Italians are divided over the issue of transgender women entering the Miss Italy pageant after authorities decided to ban transgender people from the competition.

A foreign election has come to shake Italy. It is not political, but rather societal. This is the coronation of Rikkie Kollé, elected Miss Netherlands 2023 on July 8, the first transgender woman to wear the crown in the country. A victory that has prompted neighboring countries to question their own beauty contest, especially in Italy.

As Il Mattino reports, an association challenges the organization of Miss Italy to open the right to participate to all women. Indeed, for the time being, only “women from birth” can apply for the competition.

The debate on transidentity in Italy is particularly tense, with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni opposed to opening up the rights of LGBT people. “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby! Yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology!”, She had proclaimed during a rally of the far-right party Vox in Spain.