Miss Netherlands crowns trans woman Rikkie Valerie Kollé

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/09/ [login to see] /miss-netherlands-transgender-woman-miss-universe
Rikkie Valerie Kollé has been named Miss Netherlands 2023, becoming the first transgender woman to take the title, according to multiple outlets.

After winning the pageant on Saturday, Kollé will advance to represent her Dutch homeland at the Miss Universe pageant, set to take place in El Salvador later this year. The 22-year-old was crowned with a tiara by her predecessor, Ona Moody, onstage at the AFAS Theater in Leusden.

"I DID IT !!!!!" the model said in a post on Instagram. "Yes I'm trans and I want to share my story but I'm also Rikkie and that's what matters to me," Kollé wrote. "And wherever you are in the world, I want to be there for you and be the example that I missed as a little me."