A student has become Miss America's first-ever transgender contestant to win a local pageant -prompting critics to accuse the competition of 'allowing opportunities to be stolen away from female contestants'.
Earlier this month, Brían Nguyen, 19, made Miss America history when she became the first transgender woman to win the Miss Greater Derry title.
The Miss Greater Derry Scholarship Program, set up by the Miss America Organisation, welcomes contestants between the ages of 17 and 24 who are judged on their 'their achievements in scholastic, aptitude, talent, character, community service, and poise', according to their website.
In April, the business management student will compete against other local title holders to become Miss New Hampshire 2023.
The winner of the state round will then proceed to participate in the wider Miss America pageant later in the year.
Writing for the Daily Fetched, 42-year-old former Miss Great Britain said: 'I won the Miss Great Britain competition in 1998 and aside from all the glitz and glamour on the surface, it involved a lot of time and effort.
'Seeing the news that Brían Nguyen won the pageant made me think how I would feel if I was beaten by a large biological male after spending months training and preparing for the contest.
'Winning the competition opened up a world of opportunities to me, a result of being allowed to fairly compete in an era absent of woke ideology. Sadly these young women today are not being given the same chance.'
The former beauty queen went on to accuse the pageant of being 'desperate to appear woke and inclusive' to appeal to younger generations.
She added: 'Brian Nguyen has just been lucky enough to be born in the right era.'
'For the sake of females going forward, we cannot allow this, they don't even realise the opportunity that has been stolen from them by a biological male and it's out of control.'
Meanwhile, GB News host Mark Dolan commented: 'Yes folks, we've reached peak woke - where an in-tact biological man [...] calls himself a woman and beats a group of actual young girls in a female beauty contest.'
The pageant has since removed the information regarding the amount Brían has won through her scholarship from their website.
Celebrating the landmark achievement on her Instagram page, Brían said 'no words' could explain how much the win meant to her.
She wrote: 'In the 100-year history of Miss America, I have officially become the FIRST transgender titleholder within the Miss America Organization.
'No words can describe the feeling of having the opportunity to serve my community and represent my community for the very first time at Miss New Hampshire.
'I am so honored to be crowned your new Miss Greater Derry 2023, and I am thrilled to show you all what I have up my sleeves. This will be an amazing year.'