Chiyo Gomes made history as the first trans finalist in the Mr Gay England competition.
Trans man and drag king Chiyo Gomes made history in August as a finalist vying for the Mr Gay England 2021 crown.
In an effort to be more inclusive many mainstream beauty pageants have opened up to trans candidates. Kataluna Enriquez was in June crowned Miss Nevada and will compete later this year in the Miss USA beauty pageant.
Not to be left behind, many LGBTQI+ competitions are waking up to the spectrum of identities within the community. In June Mr Gay World announced that it had “amended its policy to encompass the male identifying spectrum within the LGBTQ+ community.” The organisers said that the policy would apply globally to all its license holders who hold country-level competitions.
Mr Gay World said that the competition is now “open to anyone who identifies as male, using him and his pronouns and who collectively identifies as male.” Since the winner is to be crowned Mr Gay World, the organisers said that “for this reason that all entrants should identify in this way.”
‘Trans Gay Men Exist’
Chiyo’s participation threw light on the broad spectrum of identities within the LGBTQI+ community.
“To be the first trans person to do anything, in 2020, feels somewhat uncomfortable. Trans men exist. Trans gay men exist. Why has it taken so long for one to be platformed in this way? This time is about practising finding comfort in being both exceptionally content and incredibly angry,” Chiyo told UK’s Attitude Magazine in an interview last year after his name was announced as a finalist.
Chiyo was subjected to a torrent of hate and online abuse for his participation. Much of it was led by the anti-trans group LGB Alliance who tweeted Chiyo’s photo with the word, “Gay men deserve their own spaces.”
The pageant organisers and many others came out in Chiyo’s support. “The Mr Gay England competition are PROUD to welcome any gay man to compete for one of our national titles. In regards to welcoming a trans man into our finals, if you are a trans man you ARE a man. Simples,” the organisers posted on Twitter.
The Mr Gay England cooperation are PROUD to welcome any gay man to compete for one of our national titles.
In regards to welcoming a trans man into our finals, if you are a trans man you ARE a man.
Simples. pic.twitter.com/Q9BCbR02MK— Mr Gay England 🏳️🌈🏴 🏳️⚧️ (@mrgayengland) September 17, 2020
Mr Gay World Returns In October
The president of Mr Gay World and the South African organisers of the event have again opted to postpone the combined 2020/20201 competition from March to September 2021. https://t.co/Jf4SEXmLbC
— Mr Gay World™ #mrgayworld #mgw (@mgworg) October 19, 2020
While Chiyo did not win the title – Paul Dennison was crowned Mr Gay England 2021 – his participation has definitely been pathbreaking in creating awareness and demolishing stereotypes.
As to when a trans man will compete for the crown of Mr Gay World remains to be seen. Mr Gay World, returns this year as a virtual competition after last year’s competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both editions will be held over four weekends in October.
“The decision to host an online competition was not taken lightly, as core to the yearly event is the get together of all the delegates representing their countries in the pre-finale week that allows them to bring and share their worldwide experiences from their LGBTQI+ perspectives with each other,” said President Eric Butter.
The competition will be livestreamed on YouTube and will include pre-recorded pieces from all delegates. The final list of competitors and participating countries will not be released until next week, the organisers told Star Observer.
For more details head to the Mr Gay World Website.
For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14
For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
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