Miss International Queen transgender beauty pageant turns nine
Pattaya - Twenty-five contestants from 17 countries are to compete in Pattaya, Thailand for the crown of Miss International Queen on Friday, the ninth such pageant since 2004, organisers said.
The prize is Bt300,000, a crown with real gems and free surgery for anything at a famed plastic surgery clinic in Bangkok," said Arisa Phanthusak, organiser of the contest and acting manger of the Tiffany's, Pattaya's oldest transgender cabaret.
The Tiffany's Show was started by Arisa's father and a business partner 40 years ago to provide Pattaya beach resort, south-east of Bangkok, with a novel form of entertainment while offering transgenders a legitimate career option, she said.
In 2004, the show went international, offering transgenders from other countries an opportunity to bask in the limelight.
This year, a contestant from Myanmar has entered the pageant forthe first time. "Five years ago I would not have dared to enter," said Tanya Maung, 28, who is studying at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University. "But now Myanmar has democracy, so I feel free to contest."
