Loud pop music in a photo studio: model Sofia Salomon poses in a swimsuit, hoping to be the first transgender woman to participate in the Miss Venezuela contest.
“All eyes are on what’s going on at Miss Venezuela,” she says. “If I was there, it would go down in history.” In Venezuela, “land” of Miss but also a conservative country, it would undoubtedly be an event more than elsewhere.
The country has no less than seven Miss Universe (1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2009 and 2013) and six Miss World (1955, 1981, 1984, 1991, 1995 and 2011), and the contest remains an appointment unmissable with millions of viewers and an extraordinary hype despite the crisis.
Sofia Salomon hopes to move the lines and offer “visibility” to the transgender community in this conservative society.
She participated in 2022 in Thailand at Miss International Queen, the biggest beauty pageant for transgender women, and placed in the top 6.
“There were a lot of messages on social media from people who wanted me to enter another contest,” she says. “Now that Miss Universe and Miss World accept transgender girls, the possibility of participating in Miss Venezuela opens up to me,” she said.
In 2018, Angela Ponce, then Miss Spain, broke barriers by being the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe.
For Sofia Salomon, who lives from modeling in Spain and Mexico but also from a clothing brand she launched, the countdown has begun: applications for Miss Venezuela will be closed on Wednesday. Each candidate will then be evaluated by a jury which will select those brought to compete.
Born in Ciudad Bolivar, a landlocked city in southern Venezuela, Sofia Salomon assures that she “always had the support of my father, my mother and all my family”.
“I had a great childhood, full of respect and love, and that’s what makes it easier, because you can show society who you really are,” she explains.
Not everyone who has changed gender is so lucky. “In Venezuela, being transgender is real hell for many,” laments Richelle Briceño, a lawyer and transgender activist.
“The opportunity that Miss Sofia Salomon has is a message for society (…). Despite the fact that Venezuela is a very conservative country (…) transgender people here survive and impose themselves in good meaning of the term”, applauds the lawyer.
In Latin America, a predominantly Catholic region, Argentina was a pioneer in allowing transgender people to change their marital status in 2012, followed by Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Venezuela has no legislation in this area. It allows for name change but, according to LGBT rights NGOs, this possibility is often complicated by uncooperative or recalcitrant officials.
“All these countries have made progress in recognizing gender identity, while Venezuela has remained stuck in obscurantism,” said Ms. Briceño.
Sofia Salomon, for example, has dual Venezuelan and Colombian nationality. Her Colombian papers indicate she is female, but her Venezuelan passport indicates that she is male.
LGBT groups have also unsuccessfully called for legislation on equal marriage or same-sex parenting.
In this context, Sofia Salomon hopes to have a positive influence and stresses that participating in Miss Venezuela is not an end in itself: “No matter what, I will continue to be a successful woman. It has always been the case! “
05/27/2023 07:19:45 – Caracas (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
