Miss Spain Angela Ponce becomes first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe

Even though she did not win the grand title, Miss Spain Angela Ponce became the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe.

Post the preliminary rounds, Ponce took to Instagram and wrote, "This is for you, for those who have no visibility, no voice, because we all deserve a world of respect, inclusion and freedom."

She further added, "And today I am here, proudly representing my nation, all women and human rights."

According to Ponce, she embraced the competition as a challenge to fulfil her personal ambitions and represent Spanish Culture to the world.

For her national costume, she donned a traditional Spanish "bata de cola."

The pageant seemed to embrace her, too, tweeting video of Ponce entering the stage with the caption: "A walk to remember. A historic night for #MissUniverse."

This was in sharp contrast to the Miss Universe organization, which in 2012 had disqualified transgender woman Jenna Talackova from the Miss Canada competition for not being 'naturally born' as a woman.