The Miss Italy beauty pageant has come under fire for banning transgender women from competing. Patrizia Mirigliani, the organization’s official patron, recently defended the policy in a radio interview. She stated that Miss Italy stipulates contestants must be “a woman from birth” and criticized other pageants for being “absurd” in allowing trans women to compete.
Mirigliani’s comments caused widespread backlash. She later claimed her words were “misunderstood” but Miss Italy reiterated the ban in a statement to media. The organization did not explain how eligibility was enforced and did not rule out potential changes in the future.
In response, LGBTQIA activists encouraged trans men assigned female at birth to enter Miss Italy as protest. Federico Barbarossa, a trans man, claimed he was accepted into the contest, highlighting the contradictory nature of the ban. Other trans male contestants have reportedly applied as well.
The controversy comes after Rikkie Kollé became the first openly trans woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands. She will compete at Miss Universe, while trans woman Daniela Arroyo González aims to become the first openly trans Miss Universe Puerto Rico.
Miss Italy has long only allowed cisgender women it calls “girl next door” types. But its ban on trans women has been called regressive and transphobic by critics. The pageant has produced stars like Sophia Loren but now faces boycotts over its discriminatory policy against trans contestants.