Barrier- busting beauty queen is Cambodian American, wife and transgender

MISS USA

Bailey Anne Kennedy broke barriers when she won the Miss Maryland pageant.

“Sometimes the underdog does win in the end,” Bailey Anne Kennedy said in an Instagram post following her crowning as the new Miss Maryland.

By winning the pageant on June 1, the first day of Pride month, Kennedy broke through numerous barriers: She is the first Asian American, the first woman over 29 years of age, the first married woman and the first trangender woman to win the Miss Maryland contestt. She will represent Maryland for the Miss USA title August 4 in Los Angeles.

"As an Asian, we have been raised to be humble and be grateful for every opportunity," Kennedy told NBC. "So at that time, I was crying, thinking that 'Oh my god, I am doing something big for the community.'"  

Some on social media criticized Kennedy and the Miss USA organization, making transphobic remarks about her inclusion and saying she didn’t deserve to win over the pageant’s cisgender women. She addressed the comments in another Instagram post.

“Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities,” she posteed on the social media platform. “The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society.”

The Cambodian American immigrant's win last week was a whilrlwind of emotions because I knew it was bigger than me,” she told Washington, D.C., TV station WDCW. “I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up.”

Previously women over the age of 28 were not allowed to compete in the pageant. Transgender women have been allowed to compete for the past decade. Filipino American Kataluna Enriquez was the first Asian American trans woman to win a state titlewhen she was crowned Miss Nevada in 2021.

"Since 2012 trans women have been welcomed into our organization. Additionally, as of 2023 the organization invited all adult women of any age, marital and family status. As an organization, we fully support our Miss Maryland USA 2024, Bailey Anne," a spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement.

"I hope that I can be a beautiful contribution to society so that we are no longer looking at the LGBTQIA+ community in a negative light," Kennedy continued in her interview with NBC. "Minority girls are going to be able to see me and see themself and be able to see their reflection through my journey as well."

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