Fashion designer Shaine Soni was crowned as Miss Transqueen India 2020 on December 19. Soni will also represent India at Miss International Queen in 2021, which is the world’s biggest pageant for transgender women. According to reports, Miss Transqueen India, which was first established in 2017, almost didn’t take place this year due to the lockdown, however, the organizers were determined to send a contestant to represent India in the 2021 international pageant.
Shaine Soni during an interaction, revealed that she was born biologically male but identified herself as a girl from a young age. She also shared that she couldn’t understand why people around her began insisting she was a boy. Soni shared that she felt a lot of pressure from her family.
“With so much pressure and bullying around me, I desperately felt I was different and that there was a problem in me,” she added. Soni left home at the age of 17 and pursued education in fashion, and began her transitioning process with hormonal therapy. Soni has graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, started her own label, and also won a reality design show.
She revealed that she hadn’t come out to her family officially, but kept in touch without discussing her transition, which she referred to as the “elephant in the room that we don’t point out.”
Soni reportedly was also a part of the first Miss Transqueen India 2017, but behind the scenes. Reena Rai, chairwoman and founder of Miss Transqueen India, had approached her to be a contestant. “I was always there to support her but I wasn’t comfortable coming out at that time because of family pressure,” Soni said.
