The transgender winner of Miss Netherlands has revealed that she has been bombarded with hate online since she won the competition.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, who is the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands, says she has received hateful backlash and it’s ‘really sad.’
She said she is trying to concentrate on the good, rather than hurtful comments on social media and added: ‘I thought we were really accepting…. in the Netherlands, but the hate comments show the other side of our society.
‘I hope that’s a wake-up call. For now, I fully ignore it. I focus on the good things coming my way.’
”The negative comments were unprovoked, she continued, adding people were insulting her for being herself.
‘I just want to show the world Rikkie and of course my trans story, and being backlashed for that is really sad,’ Ms Kolle said.
The model from Breda in the south of the Netherlands said she became a target of hate speech after winning the 94-year-old competition in the AFAS Theater in Leusden last Sunday.
Now, she will go on to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. If she wins she will be the first transgender woman to claim that title.
Ms Kolle says becoming a woman was ‘not easy for everyone’ and she admits that she suffered greatly from it.
She was so determined to become a girl she changed her name from Rik to Rikkie at the age of just 11, convinced she was ‘born in the wrong body’. But in her youth, she faced years of bullying which saw her come home from school and cry, day after day.
‘I was born little Rik, but I wanted to be a big Rikkie. Transitioning from male to female became something that made me feel at home,’ she said on her Instagram.
‘I endured teasing and would go home crying. I would think, “Why me, why is this happening to me?” But I always had the support of my loving family and friends.’
Ms Kolle was eight when she says her journey started but she was 16 when she started the process of transitioning into a woman, which included taking female hormones.
She then had gender affirmation surgery in January this year – something she described as ‘the day I became who I want to be’.
Ms. Kolle says ‘transitioning made me feel at home’ and in her entry profile for the pageant, she revealed that she aspired to be a ‘voice and role model’.
She added: ‘I know better than anyone what it’s like to feel alone and not be surrounded by only positive thoughts.
‘When I was little Rik and came out as transgender, it wasn’t easy for everyone and I also suffered from it.’
‘Now years later I am stronger today than ever before, that is something I want to pass on to whoever needs it.
‘Because as long as you always remain who you are, there is no one who can stand above you.
‘I am only too happy to commit myself to all little Rikkies who face rejection from their family, their transition to the person they desire to be.
‘Help make their self-image and acceptance stronger, untouchable.
‘Through my commitment and strength, I hope to bring about change in society.’
When asked to describe herself in one word ahead of the final, Ms. Kolle said in a video: ‘Victory’, adding: ‘Because as a little boy I conquered all things that came through my path and look at me now.
‘Standing here, as a strong, empowering and confident trans woman. Love is love. Be who you want to be and never forget always celebrate your pride.
