More than 100 trans men enter Miss Italy contest in protest at 'absurd' rules

The organiser stated that she is not going to update the beauty pageant’s entrance requirements, which currently excludes trans women.

She also said that she has no desire to get on the “glittery bandwagon of trans activism”.

Mirigali’s comments come after the win of trans woman Rikkie Valerie Kollé at Miss Netherlands earlier this month.

Kollé made history becoming the first trans woman to take home the coveted title.

The Miss Italy patron voiced her opinion on Kollé’s win: “Lately, beauty pageants have been trying to make headlines by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd.”

In protest at Mirigali’s decision to exclude trans women, over 100 trans men decided to sign up to the competition.

Their ability to sign up to the beauty competition highlighted issues posed by the new rules.

In Italy, the process to have one’s preferred gender and name legally recognised is lengthy.

These men still technically fit the criteria to apply, as they are still registered as ‘female’ on their identify documents.

Trans activist, Federico Barbarossa, who helped launch the campaign, said: “With this campaign, we are giving visibility to the truth of trans people”.

He told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “When I heard about the absurd regulation, it came spontaneously to me. I was assigned to the female gender at birth, but I’ve always felt like a boy.

“We hope that the gesture will arouse the media clamour needed to put these issues back at the centre, and that many other ‘women at birth’ register en masse for the competition to make fun of these positions out of time, above Italian law”.

His actions inspired many other trans men in Italy to follow suit.

Another trans activist, Elia Bonci, said: “I took courage, used my deadname and signed up for Miss Italy because fighting transphobia is intersectional and even though I’m not a trans woman, I’ve decided to fight for their rights.”

He said that the contest was more than just a beauty contest, but an important part of Italy’s cultural history.

“Excluding trans women automatically means excluding them from history. Pretend[ing] they don’t exist,” he added.

Bonci said that Mirigali’s “women from birth” comment was confusing, as it still allowed female-born trans men to sign up.

The trans activist encouraged more trans people to sign up for the competition: “I really want to see the face of who will have to examine the demands when they find themselves in front of these handsome males.”