Chavit Singson believes transgender and married women should not be allowed to join Miss Universe—here's why
Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson believes that transgender and married women should not be allowed to join the Miss Universe Competition.
"Kaya nga 'Miss' ang nakalagay sa Miss Universe beauty contest. Tapos hahaluan ng iba," he said at an event welcoming the officers and members of the Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd) at his home in Quezon City, as per Manila Bulletin.
Singson, who was one of the major sponsors of the 65th edition of Miss Universe, also stressed that he does not have anything against transgenders and married women but advised that these kinds of women should have separate pageants, uplifting their causes and advocacies.
Meanwhile, Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz also echoed the same sentiments when she was asked in a 2023 interview with entertainment site PUSH about her opinion on the said matter.
"Edi dapat, 'Universe' na lang, huwag nang 'Miss.' Kasi, hindi na 'Miss' yon, 'di ba? Dapat 'Universe,'" she said.
The Philippines' first Miss Universe winner clarified, however, that this is merely her personal opinion, saying that these women should have their own contest instead.
"[M]y personal opinion—which is not to be taken in a negative way—dapat may sarili silang contest. May Mrs. Universe, may Lesbian Universe, may Transgender Universe," Gloria told the entertainment outlet.
"There is room for so much. Oo, mga category na ganoon, ganyan. Tapos, kasi even sa Mrs. Universe, andaming magaganda diyan na nanganak na. Okay lang yun," she added.
'New Era'
The additional eligibility requirement was announced in August 2022 through a memo from then-Miss Universe CEO Amy Emmerich that was forwarded to national directors.
Effective with the 72nd Miss Universe competition and national preliminary competitions leading up to it, women who are or have been married and women who are pregnant or have children will be able to compete," the email read.
As for transwomen, they had already been made eligible to compete since 2013, brought about by media outcry when Canadian contestant Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the contest because she was not a "naturally born female."
In the same year, Thai mogul and now the owner of Miss Universe Organization Anne Jakrajutatip called the Miss Universe pageant in 2022 a "new era of the global women's empowerment platform" that is going to be "run by women, owned by a transwoman, for all women around the world."
Embracing a new chapter, the 72nd Miss Universe pageant included progressive contestants, marking a "new era."
Columbia's María Camila Avella Montañez and Guatemala's Michelle Cohn were the first mothers and married women to compete in the pageant. The former was able to enter the Top 5.
Ultimately, after Spain's Angela Ponce made history as the first transgender candidate to compete in Miss Universe 2018, two more trans beauty queens were able to raise their flag in the global pageant. Rikkie Valerie Kollé of the Netherlands and Marina Machete of Portugal became the first transwomen to represent their country in the pageant, respectively.