Photos from https://www.instagram.com/mx.albie/
Albiean Revalde from Iloilo City is crowned Miss Trans Global Philippines 2021. She will represent the country at the Miss Trans Global pageant, which will be held this September.
Miss Trans Global is described as “an inclusive competition ran by trans female activists for trans women of all backgrounds, shapes, and sizes.” The pageant aims to give “transgender women a platform to showcase their abundant talents and creativity.”
Revalde bested 24 other contestants from around the Philippines. In the Transcending Introduction, she said, “Self-love as a 19 year old transwoman is something I wouldn’t have achieved if it weren’t for our trans pioneers who have blazed the trail for our further visibility. Loving ourselves should also mean seeing ourselves transcend through the faces of each trans generation and intersection.”
In the Transcending Campaign portion, candidates needed to develop a campaign for the transgender community and explain how they will execute it. Revalde chose the hashtag #TransNowForTransTomorrow, an intensive education campaign with allied organizations. She also used #InTRANSectional and #UnitedWomen to include cisgender and intersectional women online and in communities.
In the Q&A portion, Revalde was asked, “with so many efforts dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month, what does it mean to be an authentic ally?”
She answered, “to be an authentic ally and to be an advocate in general, means that you should be integrating yourself to the actual community that you are advocating for. A genuine ally integrates themselves [with] us, knows our stories, and has the courage and the harmony to fight for our rights as well. They don’t need to be in the limelight for us to shine, they just support us.”
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Revalde is joined by Noriel Gatan of Taguig City (1st runner up) and Mickey Alonso of Paranaque City (2nd runner up).
Special awardees include:
The panel of judges consisted of LGBTQ+ advocates Rain Villagonzalo, Naomi Fontanos, and Ronnievinn Garcia Pagtakhan, and allies Miss World 2013 Megan Young and Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa. Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, trans advocate Geena Rocero, and Congresswoman Geraldine Roman were special guests. Asia’s Songbird and LGBTQ+ icon Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and The Addlib Divas gave special performances.
Miss Trans Global Philippines was hosted by Macoy Dubs and KaladKaren.
Revalde follows in the footsteps of Mela Habijan, one of the country’s representatives and the winner of the first Miss Trans Global pageant last year.
Miss Trans Global Philippines is presented by LoveYourself Inc, TRANScend by LoveYourself, and Spaces MNL.
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