Glitz and glamour will dazzle an audience in Yarraville later this month as entrants vie for the coveted title of Miss Transsexual Australia 2017.
A law student, a dental nurse, a businesswoman and a former ballroom dancing champion are among the 14 entrants lining up for the beauty pageant at the Yarraville Club on January 28.
Now in its eighth year, Miss Transsexual Australia is the nation’s pre-eminent annual beauty pageant for pre or post-operative transsexual women in Australia.
Themed ‘Spectacular Beauty with a Purpose’, this year’s pageant will be staged as part of the Midsumma Festival, alongside a Miss Gay Australia 2017 talent quest for drag queen performers.
Contestants will parade on stage in costume, swimwear, evening wear and question-and- answer rounds.
Pageant founder and Seddon resident Gayzha Davao said that after an outstanding field last year, it was exciting to see again a high calibre of entries for 2017. “Miss Transsexual Australia aims to raise community awareness and promote acceptance and positive images of transgender women,” she said.
This year’s winner will be crowned by Andrea Jaca-Smith, the reigning Miss Transsexual Australia. Ms Jaca-Smith said the pageant was a godsend. “I could not be happier winning it. It came just a few weeks before I was going to complete my lifelong dream to become a woman, in Thailand.”
This year’s winner will collect more than $20,000 in cash and prizes, including optional surgery at one of Thailand’s leading cosmetic hospitals for transgender surgery.
Tickets, at $30-35, are via midsumma.org.au
Benjamin Millar
