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{{Short description|Indian model, Miss Trans Global 2021}}

{{Infobox pageant titleholder
| name = Sruthy Sithara
| image = Queen Sruthy Sithara Miss Trans Global 2021 01.jpg
| caption =
| title = [[Miss Trans Global]] 2021<br>
Most Eloquent Queen of the Year 2021
| nationalcompetition =
| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|29|2022|June|17}}<ref name=":1" />
| birth_name =
| birth_place = [[Vaikom]], [[Kerala]], India
| height =
| hair_color = Black
| eye_color = Brown
| occupation = {{hlist|Model| Actress [[LGBT rights activism|LGBTQ+ rights activist]]}}
|competitions=[[Miss Trans Global]] 2021|years_active=2018–present}}

'''Sruthy Sithara''' ([[Malayalam]]: ശ്രുതി സിത്താര; born {{Circa|1992|}}) is an Indian [[Model (person)|model]] and actress who won [[Miss Trans Global]] 2021. Born in [[Vaikom]], [[Kerala]], Sithara experienced [[gender dysphoria]] growing up, but embraced her [[transgender]] identity and came out after college. Sithara was one of four transgender people in the employment of the [[Government of Kerala]], working in their Social Justice Department.

Sithara began modeling in 2018. In 2021, Sithara was crowned Miss Trans Global 2021 after representing India. She was the first Indian transgender woman to win an international [[beauty pageant]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> She has been involved in LGBT+ rights advocacy.

== Early life ==
Sruthy Sithara was born {{Circa|1992|}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Menon |first1=Anasuya |last2=Anand |first2=Shilpa Nair |date=17 June 2022 |title=Transwomen Negha S and Sruthy Sithara on their journey to empowerment |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/a-matter-of-pride/article65526164.ece |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> in her hometown of [[Vaikom]], [[Kerala]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Pundir |first=Pallavi |date=10 December 2021 |title=She Grew Up Facing Transphobia. Then She Made History By Winning the Miss Trans Global Pageant. |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/india-model-actor-miss-trans-pageant-winner-lgbtq/ |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]}}</ref> Studying at a residential school in [[Kottayam]], Sithara was unaware of the transgender community until [[10+2|Class XII]] and experienced [[gender dysphoria]] and transphobia whilst growing up.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Mohandas |first=Vandana |date=20 June 2018 |title=A beautiful power dream |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/200618/a-beautiful-power-dream.html |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[Deccan Chronicle]]}}</ref>

Sithara attended college in the city of [[Kochi]], Kerala,<ref name=":2" /> where she first learned of the transgender community. She began to work a corporate job in the city.<ref name=":3" /> Gradually, she began coming out as transgender. Two of her friends helped her [[Coming out|come out]] to her family successfully.<ref name=":2" /> She was also met with acceptance by her friends and colleagues, although she recounted undergoing rejection and difficulty through the process in an interview with the ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]'' in 2018.<ref name=":3" />

== Career ==
In 2018, at the age of twenty-five, Sithara worked as a project assistant in the transgender wing of the Government of Kerala's Social Justice Department and was one of the first four transgender people in their employment; she was the first in her position.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> She once worked with [[K. K. Shailaja]], the lauded former health minister of Kerala.<ref name=":2" /> Sithara told the ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]'' in 2018 of her aim to become the country's first transgender [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) officer.<ref name=":3" /> Sithara started modeling in 2018, acting in local advertisements and albums.<ref name=":2" /> She won [[Queen of Dhwayah]] 2018, the second edition of Kerala's first beauty pageant for transgender women.<ref name=":3" />

=== Miss Trans Global 2021 ===
Sithara represented India in [[Miss Trans Global]] 2021, an international beauty pageant for transgender women which began in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buzz Staff |date=4 December 2021 |title=Kerala's Sruthy Sithara Crowned Miss Trans Global Universe 2021 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/keralas-sruthy-sithara-crowned-miss-trans-global-universe-2021-4517279.html |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[News18]]}}</ref> Sithara spent six months preparing for the pageant, guided by actor [[Namitha Marimuthu]] and [[make-up artist]] Renju Renjimar,<ref name=":1" /> and spent six months competing. Although [[Miss Trans Global]] 2021 was to be hosted in [[London]], COVID-19 restrictions rendered the pageant an online event.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lifestyle Desk |date=5 December 2021 |title=Who is Sruthy Sithara, first Indian to win Miss Trans Global 2021? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/keralas-sruthy-sithara-miss-transglobal-2021-7657459/ |url-access=limited |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref>

On 1 December, Sithara was crowned both the winner and the Most Eloquent Queen of The Year 2021.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Express News Service |date=3 December 2021 |title=Kerala native Sruthy Sithara crowned Ms Trans Global Universe |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2021/dec/03/kerala-native-sruthy-sithara-crowned-ms-trans-global-universe-2391032.html |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[The New Indian Express]]}}</ref> On [[Instagram]], she dedicated her crown to both her late mother and her late friend [[Anannyah Kumari Alex]], a radio and news anchor who was the first transgender candidate for legislative assembly elections in Kerala. Alex died by suicide in July 2021 after suffering ongoing pain and [[genital mutilation]] from a botched [[gender confirmation surgery]].<ref name=":2" /> Sithara was congratulated on [[Twitter]] by [[R. Bindu]], the Minister for Higher Education and Social Justice of Kerala.<ref name=":0" />

=== Advocacy ===
Sithara was described by ''[[The Hindu]]'' as an LGBTQ+ rights activist and has received recognition as such after the contest. [[Miss Sahhara]], the founder of Miss Trans Global, praised her for her advocacy.<ref name=":2" /> She founded an online LGBTQ+ advocacy campaign named Kaleidoscope. As part of the campaign, she has attended sessions both online and in colleges throughout Kerala.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> She has also founded the Rise Up Forum, which focuses more broadly on societal and environmental issues. She inaugurated a wall art program and four murals painted on the walls of [[Fort Kochi]] for the Rise Up Forum in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathews |first=Anna |date=16 January 2022 |title=Miss Trans Global inaugurates wall mural on gender sensitivity |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/miss-trans-global-inaugurates-wall-mural-on-gender-sensitivity/articleshow/88916520.cms |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

=== Acting ===
In a 2021 interview with ''[[The New Indian Express]]'', Sithara expressed her desire to pursue a career in acting and for transgender representation in [[Malayalam cinema]] to improve.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=P S |first=Krishna |date=4 June 2021 |title=Transgender model from Kerala on her way to represent India globally |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2021/jun/04/transgender-model-from-kerala-on-her-way-to-represent-india-globally-2311396.html |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[The New Indian Express]]}}</ref> She made her acting debut in the lead role in ''[[Pink (2022 film)|Pink]]'' (TBA), a [[Malayalam-language|Malayalam]]-language [[romantic film]] written and directed by [[Vinu Vijay]]. Sithara plays the CEO of a dating app. The film chronicles her transgender character's relationships, first with a man, a woman and then a transgender person.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Mathews |first=Anna |date=October 6, 2022 |title=Trans beauty queen Sruthy Sithara plays romantic lead in Pink |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/trans-beauty-queen-sruthy-sithara-plays-romantic-lead-in-pink/articleshow/94686229.cms |access-date=September 3, 2023 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Sithara lives in [[Vaikom]], [[Kerala]], in southern India.<ref name=":1" /> She is currently in a relationship with theatre artist Daya Gayathri after Gayathri supported her through a major breakup. They are the first [[lesbian]]-[[transgender]] couple in Kerala to come out publicly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oommen |first=Rickson |date=21 April 2022 |title=Meet Sruthy and Daya, Kerala's first lesbian-trans couple |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kerala-first-lesbian-transgender-couple-1940267-2022-04-21 |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[India Today]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Arivalan |first=Kayalvizhi |date=22 April 2022 |title=Meet Sruthy Sithara And Daya Gayathri, Kerala's First Lesbian-Trans Couple |url=https://www.femina.in/trending/in-the-news/meet-sruthy-sithara-and-daya-gayathri-keralas-first-lesbian-trans-couple-225029.html |access-date=11 August 2022 |website=[[Femina (India)|Femina]]}}</ref> The couple has gained a following on the social media platform [[TikTok]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2022 |title=ദയ എന്നെ ചതിച്ചിട്ടില്ല, വേര്‍പിരിഞ്ഞതിന്റെ കാരണം വ്യക്തമാക്കി സിദ്ധാര്‍ത്ഥ് |url=https://www.eastcoastdaily.com/2022/04/21/siddharth-clarified-the-reason-for-the-separation.html |access-date=24 August 2022 |website=[[East Coast Daily]] |language=ml |quote=ടിക്ക് ടോക്ക് വീഡിയോകളിലൂടെ ആരാധക പ്രീതി നേടിയ ട്രാന്‍സ് ജോഡികളാണ് സിദ്ധാര്‍ത്ഥും ദയ ഗായത്രിയും. |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214075607/https://www.eastcoastdaily.com/2022/04/21/siddharth-clarified-the-reason-for-the-separation.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and confronted online criticism.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2022 |title=അപ്പോള്‍ മറ്റേ പ്രണയം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചോ, ശ്രുതി- ദയ പ്രണയത്തിനു നേരെ സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയയിൽ വിമർശനം, മറുപടിയുമായി ആൻസി വിഷ്ണു |url=https://www.eastcoastdaily.com/2022/04/21/ancy-vishnu-social-media-post-about-daya-sruthi-trans-love.html |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=[[East Coast Daily]] |language=ml |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214075608/https://www.eastcoastdaily.com/2022/04/21/ancy-vishnu-social-media-post-about-daya-sruthi-trans-love.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gayathri also performed in ''Pink'' alongside Sithara.<ref name=":6" />

== Selected works ==

* {{Cite web |last1=Soman |first1=Deepa |last2=Sithara |first2=Sruthy |date=14 September 2018 |title=Sruthy Sithara: If one's family accepts you, the society will have to follow suit |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/sruthy-sithara-if-ones-family-accepts-you-the-society-will-have-to-follow-suit/articleshow/65796516.cms |website=[[The Times of India]] |issn=0971-8257}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://misstransglobal.com/mtg-2021-results/ Miss Trans Global 2021 results]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sithara, Sruthy}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Beauty pageant contestants from Kerala]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:Indian female models]]
[[Category:Indian transgender rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ models]]
[[Category:Indian lesbian actresses]]
[[Category:Indian women activists]]
[[Category:Indian transgender actresses]]
[[Category:Lesbian models]]
[[Category:Transgender female models]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Transgender lesbians]]

Sruthy Sithara - Revision history

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