Trans beauty queen set to make history in Miss Universe contest

A beauty queen is set to make history by becoming the first transgender woman to compete for the title of Miss Universe Puerto Rico.

Daniela Arroyo González was chosen to compete in the contest on February 23 and it is the second time she's tried to qualify for the contest. If she wins, González will go on to represent Puerto Rico in the global Miss Universe pageant.

Taking to Instagram to celebrate the good news, González said: "The emotion and pride that I feel in this moment overwhelms me with joy."

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

"Having the courage to dream big and follow your heart always leads us to success or in the best case it leads us to change the world to a better one."

"It's time to show how far we can go," she concluded at the end: "this is my time."

In the post from Monday, (February 27) she captioned: "Let's make history together!"

In a statement, the organisers said about González: "She wishes to live in a less polarised society, where differences can be appreciated and embraced as something positive that unites, instead of something that separates.”

González is an LGBTQ+ activist who co-founded Puerto Rico Trans Youth Coalition, a community support group to help young trans people in her country.

She is also widely known for winning a federal lawsuit against Puerto Rico’s government that allows people to change their gender on their birth certificate, AP reported.

Transgender contestants have been eligible to take part in Miss Universe pageant since 2012, with the first trans woman contestant - Miss Universe Spain, Ángela Maria Ponce Camacho - competing in 2018.

The Miss Universe Organization was bought for $20 million last year by Thai trans businesswoman and transgender activist, Jakkapong Anne Jakrajutatip.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.