Rikkie Valerie Kollé, Miss Netherlands 2023, still can’t believe she won her country’s annual pageant.
She spent all day on Saturday preparing and enjoying every moment of the evening’s ceremony, which was attended by the reigning Miss Universe, American R’Bonney Gabriel.
The show, which started at 8pm, flew by, “and two and a half hours later I was Miss Netherlands,” Ms Kollé, 22, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, adding that her victory had “finally sunk.”
Ms. Kollé’s victory is historic: she is the first trans woman to win the pageant in the Netherlands, and she will be the second openly trans woman to enter a Miss Universe contest when she represents her country in El Salvador later this year.
As the first trans woman to be named Miss Netherlands, Ms. Kollé said she hoped to be there for her community and help young queer people, as well as raising awareness of the long wait times for transgender health care in the Netherlands.
“I’m going to be an open book,” she said. In February, a post on her Instagram account outlined her experiences as a child and her treatments as a teenager, as well as an update on her gender reassignment surgery.
But being an open book on social media also brings a lot of hate, and it can be hard to avoid negativity online. Ms Kollé said she had experienced a lot of online abuse and insults since winning the election, as had some of her close relatives, including her mother and sister.
Mrs. Kollé is not the first Dutch trans woman to reach the Miss Netherlands final. Solange Dekker, a finalist of last year’s contest who took home the title of Miss Social Media, last month became the first Dutch Miss International Queen 2023, an annual pageant for trans women.
When she goes to El Salvador, Ms. Kollé will be the second trans woman to compete in a Miss Universe contest. Spain’s Angela Ponce, also a trans woman, was a finalist in 2018.
“We are really looking for the most beautiful woman in the Netherlands,” says Monica van Ee, jury member who chose Mrs. Kollé this weekend. She is also national director of Miss Nederland.
She said that while national and international media were interested in talking about Ms Kollé’s victory, many people had sent disturbing and threatening messages attacking Ms Kollé.
Anne Jakrajutatip, the owner of Miss Universe’s parent company who is a trans woman herself, celebrated Ms. Kollé’s victory in a statement.
“My Miss Universe superfan conversion sat in the front row as Angela Ponce, the first trans woman of Miss Universe Spain, walked the runway for the first time,” said Ms Jakrajutatip, adding that she was happy to make a statement that “trans women are women – and we’re here to celebrate women.
Ms. Kollé, from the southern Dutch city of Breda, has been a model since she was a teenager. She said she chose to apply as Miss Netherlands because pageants offered her the chance to tell her story.
As a model, she said, “You’re a bit of a clothes hanger. Otherwise you have to be quiet.” But in the world of pageantry, she said, “it’s also important that you have something to say.”
Ms. van Ee, national director of Miss Nederland, said the pageant has been modernized over the past decade. Now mothers, divorcees and trans women can participate, she said. “I took over Miss Netherlands because I wanted to make women stronger,” said Mrs van Ee. “I want to inspire young girls.”
She said she was shocked by the number of negative responses from men and women.
The ideal winner of a Miss Netherlands pageant should have an impressive appearance and make heads turn when she walks into a room. She also needs a message that can inspire others, Ms van Ee said. “Beauty comes from within,” she said.
She said Ms. Kollé had been the strongest contender. “Throughout the whole process she was the most beautiful woman,” said Ms van Ee.
“I was chosen for who I am and my story,” Ms. Kollé said, “and not because I’m a trans woman.”
