Trans woman among Miss Germany finalists
Around 15,000 women across the country have applied to become the next Miss Germany, according to competition organizers.
The 10 finalists were revealed on Tuesday, and one of them is making headlines: 19-year-old Saskia von Bargen, a transgender woman who lives with her parents and three younger sisters in the village of Friedrichsfehn in Lower Saxony.
Von Bargen knew from the age of 5 that she was a girl. She preferred playing with girls and wearing dresses. “Early on, my parents realized this wasn’t just a phase,” says the 19-year-old, who praises her parents for their support from the start. At school, though, things weren’t always easy; she wore boys’ clothes to avoid bullying.
At age 11, von Bargen started taking puberty blockers, followed by feminizing hormone therapy two years later. It was also when she came out at school, which made her life easier and she started to feel more accepted. When von Bargen was of age, she underwent gender surgery. Saskia is the chosen name.
Miss Germany renews her image
Winning a beauty pageant used to be associated with good looks and the ability to walk like a runway model.
But Miss Germany Studios, the company that organizes the national pageant, radically changed the judging criteria in an attempt to revamp the pageant’s image.
Since 2019, candidates no longer walk the catwalk in a bikini. Height and weight are no longer important either. In fact, appearances don’t play any role, according to Jil Andert of Miss Germany Studios. Women need to demonstrate strong personality skills and “are meant to be a source of inspiration,” Andert told German news agency dpa.
But sociologist Nina Degele, from the University of Freiburg, is unimpressed with the competition’s reformulation and considers the format of Miss Germany outdated. To be relevant, she believes “the format would have to be abolished and replaced with something completely different”.
the trans ambassador
Von Bargen said the Miss Germany pageant was the “perfect platform” for her to tell her story. A retail intern at a fashion store, von Bargen wants to educate people about what it’s like to be a trans woman. She talks openly about things that went wrong in her first surgery. In total, she underwent 12 surgical procedures. Despite the difficulties, she has no regrets.
She entered the competition to promote awareness of transgender issues. She sees herself as an ambassador for the cause. If she wins, she will have €25,000 ($26,500) at her disposal.
Not the first trans woman to reach the final
Von Bargen is not the first transgender woman to make it this far in a Miss Germany pageant. Last year, Gadou, a transgender woman from Hannover, also from Lower Saxony, reached the final.
But von Bargen hopes to be the first trans woman to win. The finals will take place on Saturday at Europa-Park in Rust in southwestern Germany.
Other finalists include an energy consultant who wants to advance women in a male-dominated field and a midwife who aspires to open her own birthing center.
The Miss Germany pageant, first held in 1927 but banned by the Nazis, should not be confused with the Miss Universe Germany, where an official candidate for the Miss Universe pageant is selected.
sl/eg (dpa)
Source: DW
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