Filipino pageant organizer in Japan recognizes transgender women

Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Myla Villagonzalo-Tsutaichi/ARMIN P. ADINA

TOKYO, Japan — For a Filipino pageant organizer in Japan, transgender women have just enough right to participate in a beauty contest as any other female aspirant. And she has welcomed everyone to the first staging of her national competition which will select representatives to various international tilts.

Myla Villagonzalo-Tsutaichi, who was crowned 2020 Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International in Malaysia, is mounting a pageant that will select ladies who will represent Japan and the Filipino community in the “land of the rising sun” in several global competitions from among married women, homemakers, and single mothers.

She sat with the Inquirer at the Tokyo Dome Hotel recently to discuss her Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Japan pageant, and her decision to allow transgender women to participate in the competition.

“First of all, this (accepting transgender women) has already been done by the Miss Universe pageant, so I thought of opening my competition to transgenders,” she explained. Tsutaichi said she also learned in the course of organizing the contest that there have been transgender women who have been playing the role of wives and mothers in Japan for decades, and they have also been competing in Japanese-organized pageants together with participants who are assigned female at birth.

“I want to give them the opportunity to uplift themselves, something that was deprived of them. I thought now is the time to honor them and for society to also value them,” she continued.

The Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Japan pageant, Tsutaichi said, will serve as a platform for mothers to show “how they give hope, love, and light to the world,” and to make their dreams come true “through action and determination.”

She said the woman’s attitude will play a vital role in determining her winners. “First, she should have a loving and giving heart. She supports her fellow candidates. You don’t need to pull others down. Support what others have accomplished, help one another attain their dreams,” Tsutaichi said.

Aside from the main title, the national pageant will also bestow additional crowns to the top performing contestants.

“The top crown will be the Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Japan,” Tsutaichi said. The winner will be sent to the Malaysian competition where she won her international crown, the Mrs. Tourism Ambassador Universe pageant.

The runners-up will likewise receive national titles, which also serves as their tickets to various international competitions. The first runner-up will be proclaimed as Mrs. Universe (Official) Japan, while the second runner-up will be hailed as Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Philippines-Japan.

The third runner-up will be crowned Mrs. Universe (Official) Philippines-Japan, while the fourth runner-up will be proclaimed as Mrs. Model Mom Japan.

To qualify for the titles that will be awarded to the second and third runners-up, the candidates must be Filipino women based in Japan. All the other candidates are eligible for the other three titles. However, the Filipino-Japanese contenders may still vie for all the titles at stake.

The main winner and the second runner-up will compete in the 2023 Mrs. Tourism Ambassador Universe pageant which will be held in Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia, in June next year.

The first and third runners-up will participate in the 2023 Mrs. Universe (Official) contest mounted by an Australia-based Filipino organizer, and different from the Bulgaria-based global tilt of the same name that was established in 2007.

The fourth runner-up will represent Japan in the Filipino-organized Mrs. Model Mom search.

The 2023 Mrs. Tourism Ambassador International Japan pageant will conclude in a coronation program which will be held at 4 Chome 12-20 Minami Azabu in Minato City in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 19 next year.

It is open to women 24 to 64 years old, and are either married, separated, widowed, or single mothers, and must possess good moral character. Interested applicants should submit their name, address, contact numbers, with a half body photograph, and a declaration of their advocacy via e-mail at [email protected].

The deadline for the submission of entries will be on Dec. 21. EDV

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