Historical change: Miss Universe allows moms, wives, transgender women to compete
Miss Universe allows mothers, wives, and transgender women to compete for the first-time in the history of the
contest.
It has been 70 years since the contest was launched and for the first time in the history of its existence, the rules are now even more inclusive, allowing mothers and wives to participate.
READ: Meet the brand new Miss Universe 2023
Prior to this adjustment, only single women aged between 18 and 28, who had never been married before or had had children were the ones to meet the application requirements for the contest.
However, starting in 2023 the annual competition will commence with the new rules. This follows the organization seeing the need to evolve with the times and open up the entries for married women and mothers.
On Sunday morning, Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios, was crowned Miss Universe 2023.
Palacios, 23, is the first Nicaraguan woman to win Miss Universe.
In 2012, Jenna Talackova was banned from participating in her local Miss Canada beauty pageant as a trans contestant. The Miss Universe organization which was then led by former US President Donald Trump has seen significant changes since then.
In 2018, Miss Spain Angela Ponce made history as she was the world's first transgender contestant on the biggest stage of beauty content.
In 2023, Miss Netherlands 2023 Rikkie Kollé and Miss Portugal 2023 Marina Machete participated in the Miss Universe contest creating history as the first trans winners of the Miss Universe contest.