City transgender beauty contests upset activists

The tremendous response to two beauty competitions fails to enthuse those working for rights of sexual minoritiesMore than 1,000 transgenders from the city are currently participating in two beauty contests being simultaneously run for them. While filmmaker Ganesh Kharwar's Nazakat Queen 2010, has attracted 1,200 participants, Laxmi Narayan Tripathy's contest called India Super Queen will showcase 18 contestants.But the overwhelming response, possibly the greatest among cities in the country where such contests were held or are planned, has not made activists working for the rights of sexual minoritiesu00a0 happy. Laxmi Narayan Tripathy, who is organising the India Super Queen contest, speaks during the auditions.Beauty is subjectiveI don't believe in judging people's beauty through these competitions as beauty is subjective, said Revathi, director of Sangama, an NGO dealing with sexual minorities. Added Akkai, Sangama's Information Divisional Co-ordinator and one of the judges in Tripathy's contest, These shows may give exposure to the community, but you cannot discriminate anyone based on beauty. All of us hijras belong to different backgrounds and many are not fair or pretty. Such events may trigger jealousy.Manjuamma, a 53-year-old hijra said, How can you make out who is beautiful in such a short span of time? Moreover, God only made man and woman. We are extraordinary. It is as if through this competition, we are competing with ordinary women and trying to show the world we can look as beautiful as them.Sexual expressionThe criticism has not affected the morale of the participants or the organisers. Laxmi Narayan Tripathy, the first transgender to represent the Asia-Pacific region in UN General Assembly president's office as a civil society task force member and the CEO ofu00a0 Twelve Noon Entertainment, which is organising India Super Queen, said, Such events give us a chance to express our sexual identity and help build leadership qualities.Snehaprabha, a participant, said, We need more such platforms to showcase our talent. They can help us take up careers in acting and modelling.Another participant, Suma (23), a cross dresser, said that such events are also an effort to show that sexual minorities are also a part of the mainstream.We are not saying one person is the best. We are saying we are as beautiful as any woman walking on other platforms like Ms India and Ms World, she said. Nazakat Queen-2010 The finals of Nazakat Queen-2010 will be held in Goa on February 10. The winner and two runners up will walk the ramp alongside professional models and feature in Ganesh Kharwar's film on India's Kinnar (transgender) community.