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Catriona stood up for Miss Spain amid controversy over transgender inclusion in Miss Universe

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/12/17/20181217-angelaponce-catrionagray.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Miss Spain Angela Ponce refers to the Philippines’ Catriona Gray as her ‘Miss Universe sister’ in this Instagram post dated December 8. <em>Instagram: @angelaponceofficial</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Angela Ponce of Spain may not have been crowned Miss Universe but had her own triumphant moment on stage as she received a standing ovation from the packed Impact Arena in Bangkok on Monday.</p><p>A highlight reel of Ponce’s journey as the first-ever transgender candidate in the 67-year-old pageant was shown during the finale. In the video, she tearfully shared her advocacy of representing diversity, in the hope of living “in a world of equality for everyone.”</p><p>“Simply for us all to understand that we are human and that we must make all our lives easier together. That reality for many people is going to change. If I can give that to the world, I don’t need to win Miss Universe, I only need to be here,” she said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/12/17/20181217-ponce-angela-rtr.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Miss Spain Angela Ponce takes the Miss Universe stage during a special segment highlighting her journey as the first-ever transgender candidate in the pageant.<em> Athit Perawongmetha, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>A month prior to the pageant, Gray had referred precisely to what Ponce represents, in voicing out her support for the inclusion of transgender candidates in Miss Universe.</p><p>“I’m open to it, because individually, I see beauty queens more than a physical aspect,” she said in one of her final TV interviews before the pageant, on “The Bottomline.” “We represent something — that has to be what we’re there for. And she has a purpose. She is that voice for the transgender community.”</p><p>“If she can further educate people about what are the needs of the transgender community to get us to be more compassionate towards them… I have close friends who are transgender, so I’ve heard their experiences, and there is a lot of work to be done in how we come towards them,” Gray said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sZfwYTiJf6Y?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Agreeing with host Boy Abunda on Ponce identifying as a woman, Gray added: “She didn’t just wake up one day and was like, ‘I feel like being a woman!’ She feels it in herself. That is who she is.”</p><p>When they finally did cross paths in Bangkok, Gray and Ponce appeared to have a warm relationship, with the latter referring to the Filipina as her “sister” on Instagram, and saying “I love you” to the eventual winner on Twitter.</p>

<p>Angela Ponce of Spain, the first-ever transgender candidate in Miss Universe has referred to the Philippines’ Catriona Gray as her “sister.”</p>

Angela Ponce of Spain, the first-ever transgender candidate in Miss Universe has referred to the Philippines’ Catriona Gray as her “sister.”