The Netherlands will represent a transgender woman for the first time in the Miss Universe pageant. Ricky Valerie Kolle, 22, is Miss Netherlands 2023 this Saturday, according to the website. TMZ.
“I did it!!!!! It’s unreal but I can call myself Miss Netherlands 2023. It’s been an educational and wonderful journey, my year can’t go wrong. I’m so proud and happy I can’t describe it. I was proud of my community and showed you that this is possible, ”the model wrote on Instagram.
Rikki of Dutch and native Moluccan origin lives in the city of Breda, between Rotterdam and Antwerp. At the end of the contest, she said that the goal she had for entering the contest was to be a voice for young women and people in the LGBTQI+ community.
“I am trans and I want to share my story. Wherever you are in the world, I want to be by your side and be the example that I missed when I was little,” he dedicated to his fans.
However, the young woman is not the first transgender woman to compete for the Miss Universe crown. Angela Ponce, who represented Spain in 2018, was the first.
The 71-year-old contest began accepting transgender participants in 2012. The next Miss Universe will take place in El Salvador later this year.