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Miss Netherlands contestant makes history as first trans woman to win the pageant
By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
Published 4:43 PM EDT, Mon July 10, 2023
CNN —
Rikkie Kollé became the first openly trans pageant contestant to win the title of Miss Netherlands on Saturday, and she will go on to represent her country in Miss Universe later this year.
“I did it!” Kollé wrote in a joyous Instagram post after her win at the AFAS Theater in Leusden. “I made my community proud and showed it can be done,” she added in Dutch with an emoji of the light blue, light pink and white-striped trans flag.
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Throughout the competition, which narrowed down hundreds of entrants to 10 finalists in April, Kollé has used her platform to promote a more inclusive vision of the pageant world, and to encourage others to feel inspired.
“Miss Universe asked us to describe ourselves in one word,” Kollé shared in a video posted to her Instagram page last month. “The word I’m choosing is ‘victory,’ because as a little boy I conquered all the things that came through my path — and look at me now, standing here as a strong, empowering and confident trans woman.”
“Never forget that we can do this together, you’re not alone on this planet. Never stop dreaming of being your ultimate and confident YOU!” she wrote in the accompanying caption. “Never let someone tell you what’s good for you, because the only thing that matters is that you become the best version of yourself.”