Winwyn Marquez. Image: Instagram/@teresitassen
Winwyn Marquez expressed support to transgender women joining Miss Universe, noting that her 2018 remark saying the global tilt should only be for “natural-born women” was wrong.
The Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 titleholder spoke about her current stance after entertainment reporter Nelson Canlas asked her thoughts on the matter, as per an episode of “Updated with Nelson Canlas” podcast on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
“Kasi before, I said parang hindi ako OK do’n. Pero now kasi, I think I have to admit to what I said na mali din yo’n kasi I wasn’t really sure pa sa mga nangyayari,” she explained. “Hindi ko pinag-aralan lahat ng nangyayari.”
(Before, I said that I wasn’t OK with [transgender women joining Miss Universe. But now, I think I have to admit that what I said was wrong because I wasn’t really sure of what was happening then. I did not educate myself about the prevailing issues.)
Marquez was criticized by some in 2018 after she said that while she loved the idea of Spain allowing transgender woman Angela Ponce to join in the global tint at the time, she thought “Miss Universe per se” should be given to “natural-born women.”
“When I educated myself [about the] LGBTQIA+, everything—actually I’m OK with it now. I’m really OK with it—you know, inclusivity and everything,” she told Canlas.
“They’re women e; they’re proud women. They’re given that chance to join, so why not?” the actress-beauty queen added.
The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) started accepting transgender women in the pageant in 2012, when then owner Donald Trump allowed the participation of model Jenna Talackova in the Miss Universe Canada pageant.
This year’s edition has welcomed two transgender delegates, namely Miss Netherlands Rikkie Kollé and Miss Portugal Marina Machete.