Pageant celebrates large, beautiful transgenders
Tambon Bang Nam Phueng authorities in Samut Prakarn's Phra Pradaeng district on Thursday hosted a unique beauty pageant to celebrate Songkran festival in which contestants were required to be transgender and weigh at least 120 kilograms.
This was the eleventh year that the authorities of Bang Nam Phueng district organised the unusual contest for those overweight, but it was the first time that the stage was reserved for transgenders.
The name of the contest was “Miss Elephant of Bang Nam Phueng”. The candidates were whittled down to 20 before the final round was held on Thursday evening.
The winner of this year’s contest was Napatcha Sermsenabun, 29, whose weight was 128.1 kilogram, while the first runner up was Pumirapee Ungamonboon, 29, 131.9kg; followed by Piyakorn Sairat, 26, 127kg; Chalitawan Laocharoen, 26, 166kg and Natpacharaporn Wijittanuwat, 29, 122.4kg.
Samnao Rassamithat, chairman of Tambon Administration Organisation, said this was the only beauty contest of its kind in Thailand.
He asked people to wait for next year when all 11 previous winning beauty queens are expected to again enter the contest in a search for the most beautiful queen.
Napatcha said that she was delighted to have won the award this year as she had participated in the contest for five consecutive years.
Napatcha said she will show her parents the award as her childhood dream was now already fulfilled.