Half-Pinay transgender beauty queen Arielle Keil hopeful of mom's acceptance

Arielle Keil, the first transgender woman to represent New Zealand in the Miss Intercontinental pageant, couldn’t help but shed tears as she rued how she spent important moments in her life without her mother by her side.

The 26-year-old half-Filipina beauty queen said she has not seen her mother for over three years after she was kicked out of their home for transitioning.

“The last time I saw my mom in person was when I was kicked out of home. I haven’t seen her since. It’s been three and a half years. It does make me sad because there is so much of my life that she had missed out on,” Keil said.

“You know, the good, the bad, and everything. And I wish, you know, that I could share this with her. It makes me sad because it’s not something that I can take back. We can’t relieve the coronation, so she can’t be here to share the moment with me,” she added.

Keil revealed that Christmas season was especially hard as she had no family to spend time with. The beauty queen expressed hope that her mother would one day accept her.

“So, hopefully, one day she does come around. I’m a very loving and forgiving person, so I will never like hold a grudge… Sorry, I don’t want to cry. Yeah, I would never hold a grudge against my mother,” Keil said.

She said her father gave his full support in her pageant journey.

She also shared how she embraced herself and chased her dreams despite facing discrimination from the people around her.

“My whole life, all I heard was ‘bakla,’ ‘bayot’ — all of that, but not once did I change. I would come home crying because kids would bully me and not once did I think, ‘I’m gonna try to be more masculine’.’” Keil said.

Keil said she had always wanted to become a beauty queen.

“I stayed true to myself and look where it got me,” she added.

She also advised parents who have trouble accepting their children to think about what was really important.

“My message to the parents would be to look at why you have those views around transgender people, around gay people, whatever, and then ask yourself, are those views more important than the child I raised?" Kiel said.

Meanwhile, she encouraged fellow transgenders to keep reaching for their dreams despite the odds.

“Keep pushing. Keep fighting. There’s going to be so many people that are going to tell us that we don’t belong here. Beauty queen isn’t determined by how you were born, you know what body you were born into. It’s not about here, it’s about what’s in here,” she said.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News