On October 30, 2021, the artist and activist Louïz was elected Miss France Trans during the Grand Bal des Fiertés in Paris. And why not include transgender women in Sylvie Tellier’s Miss France contest?
Miss France Trans 2021 was elected. This is Louïz, artist from Reunion, who “will be the voice of the condition of trans women in society and which will highlight the beautiful LGBTQIA + community”, according to the competition manifesto. It was created in 2019 to allow trans women to have more representation and visibility.
Louïz’s goal, as Miss Trans 2021, is clear: to inform as many people as possible about transphobia and the school bullying that transgender people undergo.“My goal with this title is to raise awareness among politicians about the LGBTQIA + community on issues of bullying and reception in administrations “, she told France Info.
Miss France Trans and Elizabeth Moreno: the meeting
This mission, the new Miss has been leading since she was elected: November 3, 2021, Louïz already met Élisabeth Moreno, the Minister for Equality between Women and Men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities. “We plan to work together on future projects”, Louïz told Têtu. On Twitter, Elizabeth moreno spoke about this meeting with Louïz, which she considers “a personality with an incredible career, very committed to the visibility of trans people, in France and overseas. Louïz is a magnificent role model. Let’s build together a more inclusive society.”
Towards a more inclusive Miss France contest?
What if a more inclusive society also meant including transgender women in the Miss France beauty contest, led by Sylvie Tellier? Elizabeth moreno reminds us, it is not she who makes the rules, “but why not? (…) Miss France digs into gender stereotypes which no longer apply today. We must readjust the competition to the modern French woman”, she confided to Pure media.
In 2019, Sylvie Tellier had awkwardly expressed herself on the subject. “If a young transsexual woman presents herself to Miss France and the public elects her, we will not oppose it, because we follow the choice of the public. But, anyway, I do not think that the French are ready to elect a Miss transsexual “, she had declared to the Parisian. This term is no longer used today, the majority of people concerned preferring trans or transgender, which does not refer to sexual identity but to gender.
If the road still seems long for more inclusion, Louïz is determined to defend the rights of transgender people, with or without the help of politicians and the famous beauty contest. It is, for example, at the initiative of the opening, in December 2021, of the first LGBTQIA + reception center in the Indian Ocean. Miss Trans 2021 is also a sponsor of the Orizon and Requeer associations and regularly intervenes in schools to raise awareness of the LGBTQI + cause.