A biological teenage male, Brían Nguyen, competed and won a local Miss America pageant held in New Hampshire, qualifying him to compete for the national crown. He competed as a transgender woman, but many people on social media questioned his eligibility after he posted his win on Instagram. Earlier this month, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of excluding a transgender “female” contestant in a case by a different pageant association. According to a rule of the Miss USA pageant, only “natural born females” are allowed as competitors.
