A transgender woman crowned Miss Maryland expressed delight in the celebration of women “no matter their gender.”
Bailey Anne Kennedy, a transgender contestant, won Miss Maryland USA this past Saturday. According to a post on Instagram by the official Miss Maryland account, Kennedy’s victory marked several firsts, including the first transgender contestant, the first Asian American contestant, the first to win the crown at the age of 31, the first married contestant to win, and the first military officer’s spouse to win the state competition in 67 years.
In an interview published alongside the post, Kennedy stated that the triumph on the first day of Pride Month “symbolizes everything” because the Miss Universe Organization “has now celebrated ‘woman’ universally, no matter their age, gender, or marital status.”
“As a military spouse and as a proud trans woman, I hope to display this in a positive light and as an immigrant myself – the immigrant tenacity, I hope to showcase that to people, and hopefully inspire somebody along the way,” Kennedy stated.
When speaking with DC News Now, Kennedy described the moment of triumph as “a whirlwind, because I knew it was bigger than me, Cory.” I know it will mean a lot to all the LGBT kids out there who, like me, may have felt strange and like they didn’t fit in a box growing up, so I hope my win will be a delicious invitation for them to be themselves.
Kennedy told the journalist that the next significant step would be to compete in the Miss USA competition.
On Kennedy’s website, the model described the events that led to her participation in the contest.
“The moment I married an active-duty Marine officer, I knew my life would be forever changed. I realized that his commitment to our country would always come first, and my own career goals would come second,” Kennedy wrote. “When I hit 30, the Miss Universe Organization removed the conventional marital and age limits. I knew it was a sign from the Universe that they were about to crown an older, military spouse like myself.”