India to Host Transgender Beauty Pageant

Members of India's LGBT community celebrate after a court ruling that legalized gay sex in July. (Getty Images)

The Indian city of Chennai is making plans to host the first Miss India contest for transgender people this December. In addition to the top tiara, crowns will be awarded in the categories of Miss Beatiful Hair, Miss Beautiful Eyes, and Miss Beautiful Skin. About 150 contestants are expected to participate in the pageant, which is a project of Chennai's Indian Community Welfare Organisation and AIDS awareness organizations.

"We had a meeting of the transgender community last week, where we discussed various events to bring together the community members across the country and spread awareness on better living," said ICWO secretary A J Hariharan. "Recreation camps, sports meets and marathons were discussed, but finally everyone was excited about the idea of a national level beauty pageant."

Meanwhile, this week the Indian government ruled that it would not oppose a Delhi high court's decision to legalize gay sex.

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