The newest Miss USA was crowned this past weekend, and though a trans woman competed for the title and didn’t win, her participation in the contest marks a huge win for trans representation. Winning the competition was Alma Cooper, who competed under her former title of Miss Michigan USA. She will now move on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. Cooper is a 22-year-old U.S. Army officer
Though she didn’t win the Miss USA contest, the trans contestant Bailey Anne Kennedy made history with her Miss Maryland USA win in June. Not only was she one of the first transgender women to be crowned, but she was also the first Asian-American to win the title. Kennedy, who is Cambodian-American wrote about the opportunities she had on Instagram saying: “Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities. The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society.”
Though Kennedy is one of the first trans women to compete in Miss USA, preceding her was trans beauty queen Kataluna Enriquez, who won the title of Miss Nevada in 2021 and competed in the Miss USA competition the same year. Together Kennedy and Enriquez have paved the way for others who wish to compete.
After years of being staunchly exclusive, Miss USA has changed various rules over the past few years to be more inclusive of older, plus-sized, and LGBTQ+ contestants. The crowning of the new Miss USA follows months of stewing controversy in the pageant world following the resignation of the former Miss USA title holder Noelia Voigt in May. As Voigt stepped down she posted on social media urging her followers to prioritize their mental health. During her term, she used her position to advocate for immigration rights as a Venezuelan-American, according to CBS.
Slowly but surely ruling pageant organizers have been working to unravel incredibly limiting beliefs on what a deserving pageant queen looks like and identifies as. Kennedy’s ability to compete marks a step forward not just for the LGBTQ+ community, but for minority groups at large.
