For the longest time, the LGBTQ+ community has been steadfast in their efforts to fight for their rights and recognition in hopes of fostering a society void of prejudice. Italian activist Federico Barbarossa, who is a trans man, proved that no act is too small when it comes to defending our personal and collective causes.
Following the coronation of the Miss Netherlands first-ever transgender winner, Rikkie Valerie Kollé, the official organizer of Miss Italy, Patrizia Mirigliani made a bold and controversial statement about not allowing trans women to compete in the pageant. Historically, Miss Italy has only been permitting people who are assigned female at birth. She commented that beauty contests nowadays are merely using “absurd” strategies just to make the news.
Barbarossa admitted that while the statement upset him, he was also “amused” by it. In an interview with NBC, he said, “I was like, ‘Yeah, well, I was assigned female at birth, but they would reject me because I look like a boy, and they would consider me as a boy.’”
As a form of protest in support of trans women, he decided to apply for Miss Italy under his deadname (an LGBTQ term that refers to the name a person was given at birth), then shared on Instagram a screenshot of an email he received, indicating that his registration was successful. Mixed LGBTQIA+, a nonprofit organization he works with, reshared Barbarossa’s post with a caption that encouraged other trans men to follow suit.
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After his campaign went viral, he claimed that more than a hundred trans men entered the renowned pageant. He revealed that some even shared to him that they have been accepted for selections, a higher step in scouting contestants across Italy. “I like to think I’m a little part of Italy’s progress in this sense,” he said, in hopes that the protest will “lead them to think better next time.”
Barbarossa expressed his thoughts on why pageants unwaveringly exclude trans women, saying that there is a lack of understanding about them or have false preconceptions about being transgender. “I think a part of it is that so many people have never seen trans women or trans men or trans people in general,“ he shared.
He affirmed that the exclusion of trans women from beauty pageants ultimately upholds the notion that “trans women are not women,” which in turn affects how others perceive and treat them, including what legislation will be done in the future. “They are so focused on biology and bodies, and it’s often forgotten that there are people inhabiting those bodies,” he said.
In recent years, more beauty pageants and contests are opening up to include trans women. Aside from Kollé winning Miss Netherlands this year, Angela Ponce of Spain became the first trans woman to compete in Miss Universe 2018. Kataluna Enriquez was the first trans woman to participate in Miss USA in 2021 after being crowned as Miss Nevada.
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