Transsexual Beauty Pageant
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Each year, beginning in 2004, Las Vegas' Riviera Hotel and Casino has hosted The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Contest in July. The winner receives $5,000 and a trip to the Virgin Islands.
Jahna Steele was the mistress of ceremonies for the first beauty contest, in which 35 transwomen competed.
Contestants must provide proof of their original sex. Both pre-operation (pre-op) and post-operation (post-op) transwomen are allowed to enter the contest. Entrants dress as celebrities. A Celine Dion look alike and a Joan Crawford mimic were among the hopefuls.
The pageant features:
- swimwear
- evening gown
- talent competitions
- interviews.
Entertainment Tonight and The Howard Stern Show were among the many media organizations that covered the debut show, which was also filmed for television and cinema releases as Trantasia, debuting at the Venice Film Festival.
According to Steele, talent scouts were present at the 2004 pageant, and the "the big convention center at the Riviera" was "transformed into this giant powder puff for the evening" and there was a "club called Club Glam . . . open next to it, so that everyone" could "meet the contestants" and dance [1].
The 2004 and 2005 winner was Chicago showgirl Mimi Marks, who had been crowned as "Miss Continental" in 1992. She performs at The Baton Show Lounge in Chicago, Illinois [2]. Marks also won the Best Evening Gown award. Erica Andrews was the first runner-up and Lucie Marie Pereyra was the second runner-up [3] In addition, she has twice won the "Miss International Queen" contest in Pattaya, Thailand, which was broadcast on ITV in Thailand.
Other winners included:
- Erica Andrews, Best Talent
- Lucy Marie Pereyra, Best Swimsuit
- Vilanda, 1st Runner-up Evening Gown
- Vilanda, 1st Runner-up Swimsuit
- Tara Willow Desy, Miss Congeniality [4]
- Cody Wilson, Best in Leather
The Thailand contest was "sponsored by Coca Cola, Tiffany's Show in Pattaya (the world's largest venue for female impersonation and the first Transgender cabaret show in South East Asia), Royal Garden Plaza, and Pratunam Polyclinic" [5].
Amazing Philippines Beauty Contest[edit | edit source]
Another beauty pageant, strictly for transsexuals, transvestites, and other transgendered competitors, is the annual Amazing Philippines Beauty Contest held in Manila. The 2006 winner was Patricia Monte Carlo, who defeated 27 rivals for the crown. She will go on to compete in the Miss International Queen pageant in Thailand in 2007. The first runner-up was Marian Arguelles, and the second runner-up was Chanel Madrigal.