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Filipino Transgender Shunned By Own Family Is Now A Beauty Queen In New Zealand

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3 years ago

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Nov 18, 2020 09:55am EST

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Mark Andrew

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Arielle Keil, 26, of Auckland, New Zealand was recently named as Miss Intercontinental New Zealand 2020.
A native of Davao City, Philippines, she was initially shunned by her family after her decision to become a transgender.
Fortunately, her father now accepts her as his daughter.

26-year-old transgender woman Arielle Keil was born in Davao City, Philippines. She later grew up in New Zealand after moving there.

Now she just made history after being the first transgender and first Filipino woman to win the title Miss Intercontinental New Zealand 2020.

Arielle started transitioning in 2017 and according to her, it definitely wasn’t easy since her family was not supportive about it.

In a Metro interview, Arielle said:

“Coming out as a gay man was nowhere near as terrifying as coming out as a transgender woman. Your whole life changes and so does the way people will see you forever.”

She further shared:

“I knew that being openly transgender meant that a lot of the world is going to think I’m some sick freak of nature but I always think of this when making decisions – when I’m 70 and on my deathbed, is this something I’m going to regret doing or not doing?
“The answer was crystal clear. I’d already spent the formative years of my life as the wrong gender, I didn’t want to waste my twenties in the wrong body either.”

This mindset gave Arielle the needed courage to move forward with the life-changing decision.

Her family eventually disowned her but fortunately, things later turned around for the better and her father now accepts her as his daughter.

As she told BoredPanda:

“Finding my feet as an adult after getting kicked out of home and becoming fully independent has earned the respect of my father.
“I showed him that this isn’t a phase and that I am serious about my transition and this dream of being a titleholder in the world of pageantry… With my dad now seeing me and treating me as his daughter our parent/child relationship is so much healthier and makes sense.”