25-year-old Monroe Lace has been crowned the first trans Miss San Francisco in the pageant's 99-year history, and she will now compete for the title of Miss California, and possibly even Miss America.
We don’t do much pageant coverage here at SFist, or at least, we haven’t since the days when it was Heklina throwing filthy drag pageants. But given some recent developments, we must explain that there is such a thing as the Miss San Francisco pageant (also a Miss Golden Gate), which are preliminaries where the winners go on to the Miss California pageant, and that winner goes on to the big Miss America competition.
The Bay Area has crowned its new Miss San Francisco, Monroe Lace. The first transgender woman to earn this title in the organization’s 99-year history. pic.twitter.com/ZGsMS6ToUE
— OAKLAND STATE OF MIND (@YayAreaNews) March 28, 2023
And hold on to your tiara, as the Bay Area Reporter informed us in March that a trans woman had won the Miss San Francisco competition. That’s 25-year-old Monroe Lace, a Bay Area native and UCLA grad, the only trans woman to win Miss San Francisco in the title’s 99-year history. She’s only the second trans woman to win any Miss America-affiliated titles, following Brían Nguyen’s 2022 Miss Greater Derry win as part of the Miss New Hampshire competition.
The above KRON4 interview is from two months ago, right after Lace won the title. And as Lace explains in a new KPIX interview, the duties mostly involve visiting elementary schools (nearly every day) as these pageants are trying to evolve from their sexist, swimsuit-competition past.
"Every time I put on the sash, the weight of it reminds me of the weight of my job; of the responsibility I have to make a difference for young children," Monroe told KPIX.
Monroe Lace (AKA Miss San Francisco!) recently stopped by a school to read our very own Sparkle Boy! We're thrilled to have such an amazing role model share this important and necessary picture book with young readers. pic.twitter.com/mHb0PQeVNv
— Lee & Low Books (@LEEandLOW) May 12, 2023
"I've gotten death threats. I've gotten mean comments about my appearance or the way that I look," she added. "Even though there are hateful comments that say those things, I also know that there is a trans kid out there or a victim out there who is reading that story as well. Maybe not commenting on it, but reading it and knowing that I'm going to be ok."
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Monroe Lace, the first trans woman to be crowned Miss San Francisco. Her story and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence are inspiring. Monroe, I’m rooting for you to be Miss California and can’t wait to see you shine 🌟 pic.twitter.com/I7RppRgN7z
— Rafael Mandelman (@RafaelMandelman) May 31, 2023
And yes, there is a not-zero chance that Lace could eventually be Miss America. The 2023 Miss California Week starts on June 25 (still Pride Month) at the Visalia Convention Center in San Joaquin Valley, and the finals are Saturday, July 1. That winner then goes on to the 2024 Miss America pageant this coming December.
Image via Monroe Lace
