In 2012, Jenna Talackova, a Canadian trans woman, made history by becoming the first openly trans woman to compete in the Miss Universe Canada pageant. Her participation sparked a global conversation about trans individuals in beauty pageants. Since then, numerous trans women have followed in her footsteps, competing in and winning beauty pageants around the world.

The participation of transsexual beauty queens has challenged traditional beauty standards in several ways:

Each of these milestones happened after decades of trans pageant history. If we trace the lineage from the first known trans pageant winner in the late 1960s, later would place us around the mid-2010s—precisely when the dam began to break. That’s the power of 46: a generation of struggle leading to a cascade of visible victories.

However, the trend is undeniable. The era of the transsexual beauty queen is not a fad. It is a correction.