Bailey Anne Kennedy, a 31-year-old military wife and former NFL cheerleader trainee from Montgomery County, made history last week by becoming the first transgender woman to win the Miss Maryland USA title. However, her win has sparked a wave of backlash and criticism online, with many expressing concerns that the inclusion of transgender women in women's pageants undermines biological women.

Kennedy, who is Cambodian American, is also the first Asian American to win the title and the first military spouse as well. Her win comes after the Miss Universe Organization recently changed its rules regarding age limits and marital status, allowing women of all ages and marital statuses to compete.

"I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up," Kennedy said in an interview with The Advocate. "I felt confident in my own skin at 31, which is past the old age limit, which is 28 — as you know, Miss Universe Organization lifted the restriction now — so every woman of all ages can compete."

Kennedy will now go on to represent Maryland at the Miss USA 2024 competition in Los Angeles. She hopes her win will open up doors and hearts for the LGBTQ+ community. "I hope I can be a positive contribution to society in making a difference like the USO program like I’m working with," she said.

However, her win has been met with a wave of backlash online, with many expressing concerns that the inclusion of transgender women in women's pageants undermines biological women. Critics argue that the Miss Universe Organization's decision to allow transgender women to compete is unfair to biological women, who they believe are losing opportunities to transgender women.

"This is another example of how biological women are losing out to men who claim to be women," said one critic on social media. "It's not fair to biological women who have worked hard to compete in these pageants."

Kennedy has responded to the backlash with grace and positivity. "I'm not going to let the negativity bring me down," she said. "I'm going to continue to be myself and show that trans women can be successful and beautiful too."

Kennedy joins a growing list of transgender women who have competed in the Miss Universe pageant system. In 2021, Kataluna Enriquez was crowned Miss Nevada USA, and in 2018, Spain sent a transgender competitor, Angela Ponce, to the Miss Universe competition.