A transgender woman has won the Miss Netherlands beauty pageant for the first time in history. Rikkie Kolle claims she wanted to be a “voice and role model” for others.
Rikkie Kolle, 22, was crowned in a ceremony last Saturday and will now compete in El Salvador’s Miss Universe pageant, organizers said.
“I did it,” Kolle wrote on Instagram after the win. “Yes, I’m trans and I want to share my story, but I’m also Rikkie and that’s what counts for me.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Rikkie Valerie Kollé (@rikkievaleriekolle)
Rikkie Kolle is the second Miss Universe candidate to be trans, after Angela Ponce, Miss Spain in 2018.
The organizers of the Miss Netherlands pageant said it was “the first time in the country’s history that a transgender woman won this contest”.
Rikkie Kolle herself said she wanted to use her win to bring about “changes in society”.
“As Miss Netherlands 2023, I want to be a voice and role model for all young women and queer people,” she said in a statement on the pageant’s website.
“I know better than anyone what it’s like to feel alone and have less positive thoughts,” he said, adding that coming out as trans wasn’t easy: “Today I’m stronger than ever.”
Source: DN
