{"id":63060,"date":"2025-06-06T18:51:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T18:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=63060"},"modified":"2025-06-06T18:53:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T18:53:27","slug":"63060","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=63060","title":{"rendered":"What a ridicu."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cYou can call me Miss Miami Swim until further notice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That bold declaration came from Australian transgender model Riley Minford, who turned heads and lit up social media after walking the runway at Miami Swim Week on Sunday, June 1.The 25-something Sydney-based model didn\u2019t just walk \u2013 according to many she owned the catwalk in two jaw-dropping looks during the Oh Polly show: a fiery red cutout one-piece and a barely-there white bikini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Riley\u2019s story runs much deeper than a killer strut. Her rise to fame is a story of resilience, transformation, and proving everyone \u2014 including her own mother \u2014 wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From rejection to runway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Australia, Riley faced harsh resistance at home when it came to her identity. She told Beauticate that her mother recognized early on that she was different \u2014 but instead of offering love, she offered fear.\u201cShe\u2019d say to me, \u2018Riley, I knew if you were gay or trans, you\u2019d de sad and alone.\u2019 Or she\u2019d tell me that she was worried I\u2019d get AIDS and die with just a cat for company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riley Minford felt out of place \u2014 especially during moments that reinforced the gender divide. Whether it was sports day, swimming carnivals, or classroom activities where teachers would separate students with a casual, \u201cboys to the left, girls to the right,\u201d Riley was left in emotional limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She never felt comfortable standing with the boys, but wasn\u2019t allowed to join the girls either \u2014 despite knowing deep down that was exactly where she belonged.Despite the emotional wounds, Riley held on. Her father wasn\u2019t around emotionally, but helped financially. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Riley began discovering her identity in high school \u2014 while attending a private Christian co-ed school. \u201cI struggled so much with identity until high school, and then I really switched things up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, she kept her truth hidden for years. It wasn\u2019t until after graduation that Riley decided to begin her transition. \u201cI had hidden from my trans self for so many years, that before I started this journey, I didn\u2019t know whether or not I would be open about being trans,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fearless on the catwalk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That fear of being open didn\u2019t last. After stepping out onto the world stage in Miami, Riley was all confidence. \u201cI was absolutely terrified but I got on that runway and ate it up,\u201d she told The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Sydney Confidential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With nearly 75,000 Instagram followers cheering her on, the half-Filipino influencer had this to say:\u201cIt felt so special being flown across the world to walk and I hope I did my duty. \u201dAnd a lot of people on the Internet agreed. Her fans flooded her comments with love: \u201cYou\u2019re an icon!!!! So proud of you!!!\u201d\u201dQueen, you deserve it all and more!\u201d\u201cThis is such a moment.\u201d\u201cWe can\u2019t handle how perfect this is.\u201d\u201cI think she\u2019s going to be the next top supermodel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From pain to progressToday, the same mother who once tried to suppress Riley\u2019s identity is now cheering her on.\u201cIt\u2019s a whole different vibe now,\u201d Riley said. \u201cShe\u2019s my biggest cheerleader. \u201dAnd while many transgender people face difficult transitions both physically and emotionally, Riley says that wasn\u2019t her biggest challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought the physical process of transitioning would be the hardest part, but for me it wasn\u2019t at all,\u201d she said. \u201cI transitioned so flawlessly that now I could fly under the radar if I wanted to, so it made me want to be out and open and proud. I wanted to take the high road for others who don\u2019t have it so easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking the mold in fashionRiley\u2019s Miami Swim Week debut isn\u2019t just a personal milestone \u2014 it\u2019s part of a much larger shift in the fashion world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trans supermodels like Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio made history at last year\u2019s Victoria\u2019s Secret Fashion Show, breaking barriers in an industry long dominated by cisgender beauty standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m trans, and I think it\u2019s really important to have people like me on the runway being perceived as beautiful,\u201d Alex told WWD.\u201c Especially in a setting like this that\u2019s always been very cis-oriented, it\u2019s important to be bringing in a lot of different types of people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valentina echoed the sentiment on Instagram:\u201c Inclusivity is crucial to the world we\u2019re building, and I\u2019m honored to walk with pride, love, and the hope of inspiring the next generation. What\u2019s next for Miss Miami?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her newfound confidence, a growing fanbase, and viral support from Miami Swim Week, Riley\u2019s star is only rising.She may have once feared being sad and alone, but now she\u2019s got a global audience, a powerful story, and a crown-worthy title: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can call me Miss Miami Swim until further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou can call me Miss Miami Swim until further notice.\u201d That bold declaration came from Australian transgender model Riley Minford, who turned heads and lit up social… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63060"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63060"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63064,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63060\/revisions\/63064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}