Female Beauty

“It’s a unique event. No one does it in the world except us,” said chairwoman Alisa Phanthusak. “It gets bigger and bigger each year.”  Alisa is referring to a major beauty pageant, with swimsuit competition, evening gowns, ample bosoms, and… transsexuals.
The 3rd annual Miss International Queen pageant was held in the beach city of Pattaya, south of Bangkok, Thailand on October 23-28, attracting contestants from around the world.  The winner, 38-yr-old Erica Andrews of Mexico, finally carried the day in her low-cut red gown and resemblance to a 1920s starlet, edging out runners-up Patricia Montrecarlo of the Philippines and Thailand’s own Ratravee Jiraprapakul.
“This is the most wonderful feeling,” gushed Ms. Andrews from atop her throne after receiving 10,000 dollars and the title.

Ms Andrews then praised the tolerance that Thailand shows transsexuals, not seen in her home country and other places in the West.  “I feel like I am at home. I feel so welcome here,” she said. “It can’t get any better than this.”The evening began with performances of “New York, New York” and “Queen of the Night” by Mimi Marx of the USA, last year’s winner, wearing a red, white and blue sequined headdress.
Erica did not win the national costume round, competing with a sexy pharaoh, a samurai, and a gladiator before top prize in the category was given to “Miss Maria” in a traditional Korean hanbok.
The mostly Thai crowd went wild for local hero Ratravee Jiraprapakul as well as popular Domanique Shappelle of the United States.

The event organizer, Tiffany’s Show Pattaya, the world’s largest transsexual cabaret, said more than 25 million television viewers in Thailand, out of a population of 65 million people, were expected to watch. “Beauty contests are really popular here because beauty matters. Surface impressions count for much more than they do in the West,” said Philip Cornwel-Smith, author of “Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture.”
As Buddhists, according to Cornwel-Smith, Thais are accepting because of their belief that transsexuals were adulterers in their past lives, and that everyone has been or will be an adulterer in another life. “It is accepted in a very deep way,” he said.

Limited to the first 50 qualified entries from persons at least 18 years of age, the pageant offers a friendly atmosphere to those who are often shunned in their home culture. Miss International Queen is supported by Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Here are the complete prizes, taken from official site of the contest
www.missinternationalqueen.com:

Miss International Queen: US$ 10,000 + Crown + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gifts + Domestic Airline Ticket
First Runner-up: US$ 2,000 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift + Domestic Airline Ticket
Second Runner-up: US$ 1,500 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift + Domestic Airline Ticket
Best National Costume: US$ 1,000 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift
Best Evening Gown:  US$ 1,000 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift
Most Talented:  US$ 500 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift
Miss Congeniality:  US$ 300 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift
Miss Photogenic: US$ 300 + Trophy + Sponsor’s Gift

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