‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ is just as true as – beauty has many forms. But usually, one type of beauty is considered more acceptable than the other.
With changing times, old notions are being challenged, though.
For instance, what we saw at this year’s Miss Universe India pageant, where MyGlamm contributed as the beauty partner and Nikhil Anand took over as the national director and new owner of the competition.
Rhea Singh won the crown at the event and now, she is all set to represent the country at the Miss Universe 2024.
But there was also something else that bagged a special victory in the competition.
For the first time ever, trans women stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other cisgender finalists at the prestigious pageant. Shaine Soni from Delhi, Namitha Marimuthu from Tamil Nadu, and Navya Singh from Maharashtra aced the final auditions and fought for the formidable title.
NAVYA SINGH
Hailing from Katihar city in Bihar, she shifted to Mumbai in 2011 and underwent sex reassignment surgery to feel aligned with her gender identity. Navya, aged 34, is not just a beautiful face-she dons many hats and with distinction. She is an accomplished Indian actor, model, Kathak dancer, and singer. She boasts the achievement of being India’s first transwoman to walk the runway at Lakme Fashion Week, and has walked for noted designers like Wendell Rodricks. A powerhouse with diverse creative talents, she has featured in reality shows, music videos, and a recent daily soap on Colors TV titled ‘Krishna Nandini’, where she plays the role of a transwoman professor.
Having herself fought for expressing her true identity, she is now a transgender activist who is passionately committed to increasing gender sensitization and fostering inclusivity in society.
NAMITHA MARIMUTHU
35-year-old Namitha from Chennai is beauty with brains, holding a BE in Computer Science Engineering from St. Peters Engineering College in Avadi, Tamil Nadu. For a decade now, she has modelled and walked the ramp for designers both in India and abroad, and graced the covers of many magazines. Adding newer feathers to her hat, she became the first trans woman to participate in a reality dance show, and has featured in Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5. She has also given impressive performances in 25 Tamil films! What’s more? She is also the first trans woman in Tamil Kollywood to rap as a playback singer.
A proud pet parent to nine dogs, Namitha is also an entrepreneur and activist who pushes for greater visibility of the trans community in society.
SHAINE SONI
One look at her list of accomplishments, and one wonders if she has left any milestone untouched. A National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) graduate, she has been a noted celebrity stylist for popular names like Ranbir Kapoor, Jimmy Shergill, and Diljit Dosanjh. She even featured on and won Zoom Tv’s reality show ‘Let’s Design’, and was also titled Miss Trans Queen India 2021.
Shaine serves as India’s President for the International Association of Working Women and has been roped in by Viacom 18 for a docu-reality series on her life. She also works with the government, appointed as the State Icon for Delhi-NCR by the Election Commission of India. Fighting for gender education in schools is one of her primary causes, as she considers it important to foster inclusivity and bust gender stereotypes in a child’s formative years.
It Is Inclusivity That Also Took The Title
With such versatile personalities in the competition, it was indeed a fierce fight. But what we must also collectively celebrate is the win of the cause of inclusivity. These finalists have rewritten the gendered rules of participation by opening the arena for trans people, and currently thriving in their 30s, they also shook the many graying age norms. Their selection has made ‘trans talent’ more visible in mainstream media and the rainbow flag wave high in more unchartered places.
For more updates on the event, follow My Glamm, the official beauty partner for Miss India Universe.
