Under Myanmar's laws, citizens can be punished for the "unnatural offense of carnal intercourse against the order of nature," according to a refugee legal aid group. "But my goal is to make them look at me and others that are like me just the same." "A majority of people in Myanmar are not accepting of this," the contestant told Glamour. Still, the pageant world has a reputation for predominantly including contestants who are thin, cisgender and white.īy using her platform as a voice for the marginalized, Htet also hopes to effect change in people's hearts. Last year, openly trans contestant Angela Ponce joined the pageant as Miss Spain. Htet is the first openly gay Miss Universe contestant, but she's not the first member of the LGBTQ community to be involved with the pageant. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. "Love is the most powerful thing and people fall in love with human beings, not gender." I want the world to accept the LGBTQ+ community and their right to choose their own path and pursuit of happiness," she told the blog. "I believe that not all countries allow same-sex marriage. "The difficult thing is that in Burma, LGBTQ people are not accepted … they are looked down on by other people and are being discriminated against."Īs People noted, Htet recently came out during an interview with beauty blog Missosology.
"I have that platform that, if I say that I’m a lesbian, it will have a big impact on the LGBTQ community back in Burma," Htet told People via a translator. The 21-year-old told People - who will compete in Miss Universe on Sunday night - that she wants to use her platform to help LGBTQ people in her home country, which is also referred to as Burma. In the 25-second video shared on Twitter on Monday, a dance floor packed with unmasked partiers are seen celebrating life, with smiles on their faces and hands up in the air, while dancing to Lady. I was quite depressed, but I don’t have that feeling any more.Swe Zin Htet, the reigning Miss Myanmar, is making major progress for both her country and for the Miss Universe pageant as a whole. "At work people didn’t accept me being gay. With rainbow flags painted on his cheeks and pink beads around his wrist, make-up artist Thu Yar Zaw, 25, told AFP how much the festival means to him. He was travelling in the US, but his mother accepted the award on his behalf, saying she was happy to have a gay son. Macho actor Okkar Min Maung was recognised as a role model after shocking the country with his coming out in a Facebook video last year. The festival’s theme this year is "Heroes" to celebrate those who are standing up to fight for the community.
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"Most non-LGBT people are not understanding LGBT persons," said 28-year-old activist and transgender woman Shin Thant, adding that a lot more work is needed to combat the comical stereotypes of LGBT people reinforced by TV and film.
Perceptions can be very different away from the main cities and many LGBT people often still face discrimination in the socially conservative country. The boat party kicked off the packed programme of events that will include films, debates and the much-anticipated drag queen Olympics, featuring handbag throwing and stiletto races.īut there is a very serious message beneath the flamboyance.
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Flushed with their success, organisers re-branded this year’s event as a true 'Pride', even if a full march through the streets remains an elusive goal in a country still wary of protests.īillboards sporting huge photos of LGBT couples were plastered across the city in the build-up to the festival.