Mr Gay World has updated its rules making it clear that trans men are welcome to compete.
The annual beauty pageant says the competition is now “open to anyone who identifies as male, using him and his pronouns and who collectively identifies as male”.
Back in June, the organization announced it had “amended its policy to encompass the male identifying spectrum within the LGBTQ+ community”, applicable globally to all of its license holders who hold national competitions.
In 2020 Chiyo Gomes became the first trans man to participate in Mr Gay England, which obviously pissed off some bigots anti-trans campaigners at the time, but the competition stood firm in their position that they were “PROUD to welcome any gay man to compete for one of our national titles” (caps for impact noted and appreciated).
The Mr Gay World competition has been postponed for the last two years, due to COVID, but they’re coming back stronger, more inclusive and now virtual – held online over a four-week period later this month.
Mr Gay World president Eric Butter told the Star Observer: “The decision to host an online competition was not taken lightly, as core to the yearly event is the get together of all the delegates representing their countries in the pre-finale week that allows them to bring and share their worldwide experiences from their LGBTQI+ perspectives with each other”.
The pageant will be livestreamed on YouTube.