Australian model wins second place at trans beauty pageant

An Australian trans woman model has won second place in the Miss International Queen beauty pageant in Thailand.

Vietnam’s Nguyễn Hương Giang beat mononymous model Jacqueline to take out the crown, SBS News has reported.

Contestants from more than 25 countries competed for the title.

26-year-old Jacqueline, from Victoria, said in a video for Miss International Queen that she “always knew” she was trans, before coming out and embracing her gender at 19.

“Since then I’ve just been finding myself more and more, and becoming more and more who I’ve always wanted to be,” she said.

Jacqueline said modelling has taught her many things.

“I learned how to be beautiful inside and out,” she said.

Jacqueline grew up in Daylesford before moving to Melbourne.

She said she was bullied in school but had the support of her close family.

“I was lucky to have such a supportive family,” she said.

“I have such a close relationship with my mum, and she was always on my side.

“She always encouraged me to just not worry about what others might think, but to be myself, and to just embrace it and be me.”

Jacqueline said competing in Miss International Queen was “a dream come true”.

The pageant, held in Pattaya, Thailand, is in its fifteenth year.

Trans women contestants from diverse backgrounds all around the world come together to compete for the crown.

“This is my first international experience of coming to [a] pageant where it is really a big exposure to all my trans sisters all over the world,” said contestant Nitasha Biswas, from India.

Thailand is often associated with trans people due to the visibility of trans women in Thai culture, and the country’s popularity as a destination for gender surgeries.

Trans people in Thailand still face various forms of discrimination and inequality, and are unable to legally change their birth sex.