Critical Beauty

An Israeli from a Catholic Arab family was crowned the winner of the country’s first transgender pageant. Ta’alin Abu Hanna , 21, from the northern city of Nazareth, wore a white bridal dress as she was declared the first “Miss Trans Israel” on Friday at HaBima, Israel’s national theater, in Tel Aviv. She described her victory as “historic” and said it promotes equality. She will represent Israel at the Miss Trans Star International pageant in Spain in August — the first time an Israeli will participate. She also will receive $15,000 worth of plastic surgery treatments from a hospital in Thailand, plus airfare and a hotel stay during the treatments and recovery. Israel is generally tolerant of gay people, and Tel Aviv has emerged as one of the world’s most gay-friendly destinations. The Israeli city stands in sharp contrast to many parts of the Middle East, where gay people are often persecuted. A Christian Arab-Israeli ballet dancer, Abu Hanna told reporters she i

ALLIE DUNN / PHOTO CREDIT: FADIL BERISHA      RPM Productions, the franchise owner of Miss North Carolina USA, has released a statement today announcing that Miss North Carolina USA 2016, Allie Dunn , will be unable to compete in Miss USA 2016 pageant in Las Vegas on June 5 due to illness. Dunn has resigned from her position and has been replaced by her first runner-up, Devin Gant . We wish Allie a full recovery and we wish Devin the best of luck in Miss USA 2016.  DEVIN GANT IS NOW MISS NORTH CAROLINA USA 2016 FOLLOWING ALLIE DUNN'S RESIGNATION / PHOTO CREDIT: DEVIN GANT'S FACEBOOK PAGE

PHOTO CREDIT: ALCHETRON      Anke Van dermeersch was Miss Belgium 1991 and represented Belgium at Miss Universe 1992 pageant in Bangkok, Thailand where she placed in the top six. Today, the 6'1" blond stunner is married, a trained lawyer, and a  senator of the anti-immigration party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) which is also vehemently anti-Islam. It is rare for a beauty queen, even if she has pursued a political career, to speak out against Islam that seeks to destroy Western society from within and replace it with Sharia law, but Anke is an exception. She knows that Belgian culture is under Islamic threat, especially now that her country has become the largest producer of Islamic jihadists in the world. WHILE COMPETING IN MISS UNIVERSE 1992, ANKE'S AVERAGE SCORE OF 8.983 WAS ENOUGH TO SAVE HER A TOP 10 SPOT.       Anke is not new to controversy. On September 19, 2013, she started a campaign called "Freedom or Islam?" ( "Vrijheid of

Dominicans back to back! Congratulations are in order for   Clarissa Molina  for becoming the new beauty queen from “Nuestra Belleza Latina” in its VIP edition, which brought past seasons contestants for another shot at the coveted crown. Fellow Dominican and  last year’s winner   Francisca Lachapel  crowned Molina in a grand finale Sunday night (May 22) that left everyone celebrating. Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda   opened the show with an exciting performance that featured the four finalists: Colombian  Setareh Khatib i , Puerto Rican  Catherine Castro , Dominican  Clarissa Molina  and Colombian  Bárbara Turbay   dancing along to a choreographed routine in shiny red dresses. Colombian Bárbara Turbay was named the third finalist of “Nuestra Belleza Latina VIP” and Puerto Rican Catherine Castro took the second finalist spot yet again just as she did last season when she first competed for the show. Julión Álvarez performed one last time, while Setareh and Cla

Casablanca –  Sara Belkziz was crowned Miss Morocco 2016 on Saturday evening in a ceremony held in Casablanca . Sixteen candidates took part in the final of the third edition of Miss Morocco, which was held at the Morocco Mall in the presence of large audience and significant media coverage. The lucky winner received the highest number of votes of Moroccans, who were called to choose their favorite candidates on social media. The title of first runner up went to Saloua Bergayou (Casablanca), while the second and third runners up were won respectively by Yassmine Bennani from Fez and Racha Racha Zair from Casablanca. On Friday, Miss Morocco’s organizing committee posted the  pictures  of the 16 finalists on its official page and called on Moroccans to vote for their favorite candidates by sending text messages to the number 9050. Unlike beauty pageants organized in Western countries where contestants are required to wear swimsuits, Miss Morocco’s candidate

COURTESY: RIMA FAKIH'S FACEBOOK Former Miss USA Rima Fakih married Lebanese-American music producer Wassim Salibi in Lebanon on Sunday. The wedding included attendance of Canadian singer The Weeknd , Moroccan-American rapper French Montana and Lebanese singers Haifa Wehbe and Wael Kfoury . The beauty queen’s husband, Salibi, 35, was recently recognized by Billboard magazine for being one of the most influential music producers under the age of 40. After the wedding, Lebanese-born Fakih, 30, tweeted “I'm married !!!!! Thank you Lord for always giving me wings and helping me find my true soul mate.” View image on Twitter  Follow Rima Fakih   ✔ ‎@RimaFakih I'm married !!!!! Thank you Lord for always giving me wings and helping me find my true soul mate 10:47 AM - 16 May 2016     195 195 Retweets     498 498 likes Fakih, born a Muslim, had recently been the topic of  media speculation  after she reported