Trans athletes and competitors have frequently struggled to be accepted into their preferred sports, with some claiming they have unfair advantages. The Miss America competition is no exception.
Most of the time, trans athletes may be permitted to compete. Trans people must not have “completed” their medical transition by the 2025 season. It’s a stricter requirement now than it was before, which permitted any entry that identified as “female.”
Contestants may be “a born woman” or had “fully completed [sexual reassignment surgery]/Gender Affirming Surgery from male to female, with accompanying medical documentation,” according to information from the San Francisco Standard.
By forbidding transgender contestants from competing early or from maintaining their titleholder status, the contract more restricts them, but this is the same as previous agreements.
Trans individuals respond
Any trans woman who has not completed the expensive and time-consuming process of transitioning from male to female is effectively barred from competing under the new regulations.
Because of this, many trans individuals believe that progress is going in the wrong direction and haven’t hesitated to express their views.
Brian Nguyen, the first trans person to win locally in Miss Greater Derry (New Hampshire) in 2023, said, “It’s way worse than I thought.”
However, Robin Fleming, the CEO and proprietor of Miss America, has doubled down on the new regulations and declares that they will remain in place.
By insisting that the new laws have no bearing on their existing period, they did provide some solace to those who were now competing.
“This year, we had three adult trans contestants compete on our stages,” said Fleming. “One of which will participate in the Miss California occasion the following year, and her registration is uncontested.
Her enrollment or participation for this year would not be affected by any upcoming changes.”
