A transgender woman made history on
Saturday, winning the title of Miss Universe Spain 2018.
Angela Ponce, a 27-year-old transgender
model from Cadiz, won the title, making her the first transgender
woman to be crowned Miss Universe Spain. She's also become the first
transgender woman to compete at the Miss Universe pageant later this
year.
Miriam Pardes came in first runner-up,
while Sheila Monjas finished second runner-up.
In accepting the crown, Ponce pledged
to take a message of inclusion to Miss Universe.
“I pledge to take a message of
inclusion, solidarity, respect, love for one self, and love for
others to Miss Universe. Thank you,” Ponce said from the stage
after being crowned.
The Miss Universe organization in 2012
announced that transgender women could compete.
The decision came after beauty queen
Jenna Talackova – who was born male and began transitioning at age
14 – was told she could not compete in Miss Universe Canada.
Talackova reached out to President Donald Trump, who owned Miss
Universe at the time, to drop the organization's policy of not
allowing transgender women to compete. The organization and Trump
said that they reversed the policy independently of Talackova's
actions, which included hiring civil rights attorney Gloria Allred.