A federal judge threw out a discrimination case on Thursday brought forth by an aspiring trans contestant in the Miss United States beauty pageant who was barred from participating due to her gender identity.
As a closeted trans girl growing up in Montana, Anita Noelle Green secretly adored pageants, and loved the way the shows focused on women and allowed them to express an “important message” to the entire world. “That’s what appeals to me the most,” Green said in a January 2020 interview with Portland NBC affiliate
KGW.
Green came out as trans at the age of 18 and started participating in pageants by her mid-20s. After becoming the first transgender woman to compete for the Miss Montana crown in 2017, Green won the title of Miss Elite Earth Oregon in 2019, a precursor to the Miss Earth pageant. Her success caused a representative for the Miss United States contest — a national competition that is separate from both Miss America and Miss USA — to reach out to her via Facebook that same year.