Transgender contestant, a biological male, wins Miss Nevada USA​



For the first time ever, a transgender contestant will compete to become Miss USA.

On Sunday, 27-year-old Kataluna Enriquez, a biological male, beat out 21 female contestants to be crowned Miss Nevada USA. Enriquez will now move on to the Miss USA pageant, scheduled on Nov. 29.

With a victory there, Enriquez would become only the second transgender contestant ever to compete for the Miss Universe title.

During the competition, Enriquez wore a homemade rainbow-colored gown to celebrate Pride Month and "honor all of those who don't get a chance to spread their colors," KVVU-TV reported.

The news outlet boasted that by winning the pageant crown, Enriquez "is redefining what it means to be a woman and what it means to be beautiful."

"I've learned to love myself, learned the beauty that's inside me, learned to use my voice and the power that I have," Enriquez said. "You are capable of anything as long as you believe in yourself."

Miss Nevada 2021 will be first trans woman to compete for Miss USA title www.youtube.com

Enriquez started garnering national attention in March after winning the Miss Silver State USA pageant, a local competition in the Miss Universe Organization pageant circuit.

The line of pageants, which were once owned by former President Donald Trump, are among the most revered competitions in the pageant world.

At the time, Enriquez called the experience "a celebration of womanhood and diversity and this celebration of being your true self."

"One thing that is important for me is inclusivity, diversity, and representation. It's something I did not have growing up and is still lacking in today's world," Enriquez added. "Today I am a proud transgender woman of color. Personally, I've learned that my differences do not make me less than, it makes me more than."

Despite facing discrimination in the past — such as allegedly not being assigned a roommate and being forced to provide medical documents proving a female identity — Enriquez has become a formidable force in the pageant world.

The timely message of inclusivity for transgender individuals undoubtedly gives Enriquez a leg up in competitions.

Following Enriquez's Miss Silver State USA win, TheBlaze reported that such a message "may prove to benefit Enriquez in upcoming competitions, especially as transgenderism gains popularity in progressive circles and pressure mounts to avoid even the slightest appearance of discrimination."

Time will tell if that message will continue to carry Enriquez to broader recognition.

Biological male wins female beauty pageant in Nevada



A transgender person is now one step closer to being crowned Miss USA.

Kataluna Enriquez, a biological male, won the Miss Silver State USA pageant this week, an event considered the biggest preliminary competition for the Miss Nevada USA pageant, KVVU-TV reported.

The outlet called it a "monumental win" for Enriquez, who will now move on to the statewide competition in the pageant circuit that leads to Miss USA and, eventually, the Miss Universe competition.

The pageants, collectively run by the Miss Universe Organization, were once owned by former President Donald Trump and are widely recognized for awarding among the most coveted crowns in the pageant world.

In an interview with the local news outlet after the victory, Enriquez called the experience "a celebration of womanhood and diversity and this celebration of being your true self."

First transgender titleholder crowned Miss Silver State USA youtu.be

But Enriquez noted that she has not always been so well liked in the pageant world. She recalled at a previous pageant, which she chose not to name in the report, when event organizers found out she was a transgender, they required her to provide medical documents to prove she was female. The organizers also allegedly refused to assign her a roommate.

"I was asked to provide documents that were invasive in my opinion physically asking me to get a letter from my doctor," Enriquez said. "It brought me back to a time where I felt like I was not welcome."

But according to KVVU-TV, Enriquez said instead of shying away from her transgender identity based on past experiences she has decided to make "awareness of the transgender community" her pageant platform.

That message evidently resonated in the Miss Silver State USA pageant and may prove to benefit Enriquez in upcoming competitions, especially as transgenderism gains popularity in progressive circles and pressure mounts to avoid even the slightest appearance of discrimination.

Over the last few years, pageant organizations have started to receive entries from more and more biological males and have been hit with backlash upon denying the participants from competing.

In 2018, Angela Ponce, winner of that year's Miss Universe Spain pageant, was at one point the favorite to be crowned Miss Universe.

The Miss Nevada USA pageant is scheduled for June, according to the report.