Bailey Anne Kennedy has shattered the Miss USA pageant’s traditional mold by  becoming the first trans and first Asian American Miss Maryland. As a Cambodian American immigrant and military wife who is over 30, her reign is moving past the dated standards of who pageants traditionally hold up as the ideal woman. Her victory signals a potential shift in the pageant world and other American institutions towards greater inclusivity.

Kennedy also has the potential to continue to knock down the status quo should she be crowned the winner of the 2024 Miss USA pageant, taking place in August. As Americans navigate a hostile political system with trans bans and continuous attacks on women’s bodies, are we ready to crown a transgender Miss USA?

Kennedy’s win has not been without controversy, sparking transphobic backlash on social media. She took to Instagram to respond to the backlash.

“Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities,” she wrote on June 4. “The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society.”

Kennedy’s victory may signify a wider trend in not just pageantry, but other traditional American institutions seeking more inclusivity. In May, Boy Scouts announced it would rebrand to Scouting America, seemingly stepping away from its past of excluding gay members and problematic history, as Reckon reported last month.

Kennedy isn’t the first trans contestant to join the Miss USA pageant system, but her victory comes at a pivotal moment in the fight for transgender rights. In 2021 Kataluna Enriquez won Miss Nevada as the first transgender contestant, and it’s been over a decade since Miss Universe, a sister pageant system, began allowing transgender participants. Additionally, the AP reported that Miss Universe was purchased by Thai trans activist and business tycoon Chakrapong “Anne” Chakrajutathib in 2022.

“Since 2012 trans women have been welcomed into our organization,” the Miss Maryland USA organization wrote on Instagram. “Every person has the right to live authentically and pursue every opportunity, and we believe Bailey Anne embodies these values. She is brave, resilient, and committed to her truth – all attributes that make her an excellent state representative.”

The pageant world is evolving. Last year, the Miss USA organization lifted age and marital status restrictions, allowing essentially all adult women to participate in their pageants. In 2020, Miss Utah Rachel Slawson made history as the first openly bisexual competitor in the Miss USA pageant.

Lara Hakamaki, Miss Congeniality 2023 and 2024 in the Miss Michigan USA pageant shared with Reckon details on the contract to compete in Miss Michigan USA pageant, which selects the local representative to compete at the national level. The 2024 contract requires participants to verify that they are born female, or must be able to “provide legal and governmental recognition of her assigned sex as female by the U.S. federal government or her U.S. state of residence, including “any certification that she has fully completed sex reassignment, required by state and provided by a physician.” This would be increasingly difficult in states like Florida and Ohio where legislators have made attempts to restrict gender-affirming even for adults.

Hakamaki said that it’s difficult to say how LGBTQ+-friendly the pageant system is because it depends on each preliminary state’s rules and directors, though overall she feels progress is being made in welcoming queer competitors.

“I feel like in the last few years we’ve made great strides towards being more accepting and being able to actually like, be yourself and announce who you are and who you love,” she said.

As these changes are implemented, conservatives continue to voice their frustration online but Trump played a major role in allowing trans women to compete. In 2012, he personally overruled a decision by the Miss Universe organization, which he owned from 1996 to 2015, to disqualify Canadian contestant Jenna Talackova for not being a “naturally born female,” according to Reuters.

“Trump himself, more than anyone else on earth, has paved the way for transgender participants in beauty pageants….but none of these MAGA accounts would ever have the courage to admit it,” Twitter user Peter Henlein pointed out on June 6.

He also supported the decision to fire former Miss California Carrie Prejean in 2009, which she says was due to her stance against gay marriage, although the official reason was a contract violation, according to Reuters.

Trans representation matters

As of May 2024, 39% or 117,600 trans youth between the ages of 13 to 17 are living in the 25 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care, reports the Human Rights Campaign and this anti-trans legislation is having staggering effects on the youth’s mental wellness of youth. A 2024 survey by the Trevor Project found that 90% of LGBTQ+ youth said their mental health was negatively impacted by recent politics, and 46% of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously attempted committing suicide in the past year.

“We’ve seen high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and PTSD,” Melissa Holt, Boston University psychology professor and director of Kilachand Honors College told the Brink in March 2023. “To me, it feels quite devastating that these are kids who are in states where they feel silenced and harassed, that their identities are somehow a target for discrimination.”

Though from the emergence of the Black and Brown drag ball scene in the 1920s to Miss Gay America celebrating its 50 year anniversary in 2023, pageantry has a rich history in queer spaces. But the representation of trans and queer competitors in traditionally cis-straight competitions has the potential to inspire more LGBTQ+ youth to feel accepted.

“I think that [representation] it’s probably one of the most important things for really any background, whether that’s bi, trans or just different ethnicities,” said Hakamaki. “But whether you are comfortable or not announcing who you are, being in the [LGBTQ+] community does not define who you are, it’s a part of who you are.”

Kennedy shared a similar sentiment on the importance of representation.

“I hope that I can be a beautiful contribution to society so that we are no longer looking at the LGBTQIA+  community in a negative light,” Kennedy told CBS’ Baltimore affiliate WJZ News. “Minority girls are going to be able to see me and see themself and be able to see their reflection through my journey as well.”

Kennedy will compete in the Miss Universe pageant, taking place on August 4.