MANILA, Philippines – A transgender Filipino woman plans to use the platform of pageantry to spread a message of hope, determination, and acceptance.
Pampanga-based model Keylyn Trajano will compete at the Universal Woman 2025 pageant as the first-ever transgender contestant in the budding international competition.
But she will not be representing the Philippines.
Crowned “Universal Woman Arabia” by reigning Universal Woman Maria Gigante at a recent event held in Quezon City, Trajano will instead carry her birth country in the pageant. She was born in Jeddah to Filipino parents, and moved to the Philippines at a young age.
I’m grateful for everything… all the hardships, all the abuse, all the discrimination, all the rejection
Trajano is a familiar face to avid pageant followers in the Philippines. She took part in the Century Superbods contest in 2020 and 2024, and was an official candidate for the Miss Universe Philippines Pampanga crown last year.
The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has opened its doors to transgender participants as early as 2012, under the watch of then-owner Donald Trump before he was elected as United States president.
And although the absence of gender legislature prevents the Philippines from adopting MUO’s policy, Trajano was still accepted in the Pampanga search. She, however, backed out before the finals “after much reflection,” she said in a post on social media.
“Knowing that the country isn’t still ready for change, my stable avenues are things I cannot simply let go,” Trajano said, citing her professional and business commitments.
Addressing members of the media during her Quezon City coronation, she said, “there’s nothing not open about me, ever since I came out last year, and competed in pageantry. And every time I’m always the bridesmaid, every time I’m always so close, but never really given the chance in the Phillippines, because of who I am.”
Trajano said she has found her “home” in the Universal Woman pageant, which she said celebrates who she is, and does not consider her merely as an “inclusivity pick.”
The United Kingdom-based international competition is a groundbreaking pageant that has a more inclusive set of guidelines.
While most contests accept ladies as young as 18, and impose age caps of 27 or 28, Universal Woman participants are between 25 and 45 years old.
And aside from accepting transgender delegates, similar to the Miss Universe and Miss Intercontinental pageants, Trajano said Universal Woman also has four “plus-size” women competing this year, the pageant’s third edition.
“It’s about me showing my best version, showcasing my advocacy, empowering women and trans women, and my LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. And, finally, if I do my best, I can win,” she said.
Trajano hopes her quest for an international crown would inspire more people.
“I want to be that reminder that you can do whatever you dream of,” she said. “I’m willing to change the world in my own simple way. And hopefully this transpires through the whole world, to start from their own way.”
Trajano also looked back on all the obstacles she encountered in chasing her dreams.
“I’m grateful for everything that I’ve experienced in my life, all the hardships, all the abuse, all the discrimination, all the rejections. It led me to where I belong, which is Universal Woman,” she shared.
The pageant’s third edition was scheduled to take place in India this month. But the organizers decided to postpone to competition after New Delhi launched retaliatory missile attacks on the Pakistani-controlled area of the Kashmir region in early May.
No details about the new date and venue have been released so far. The crown currently belongs to Maria Gigante, the Cebuana event host who was the Philippines’ first entry to the international pageant.
Asked why she should be the next Universal Woman, Trajano responded: “I have a story to tell. Our story transcends everything.”
“Our stories, our narratives are symbols of past, present and future. And stories are legacies,” she added. “Stories are a message of hope. And all of us are different representations of hopes and empowerment. But my story is really mine. And that will transcend generations.” – Rappler.com