Kangsadarn Wongdusadeekul, known by her stage name "Nonk", cried as she accepted her Miss Tiffany crown from last year's winner.
Nonk, 19, particularly impressed the panel of judges with her question round.
Asked if she would be happy to join the army as a man, she told the audience: "Last year I went to register as a soldier but my figure had changed so the government did not let me.
"We are beautiful - so we have no need to be soldiers," she said, getting the biggest laugh of the night.
Her win brings considerable financial reward: 100 000 baht - equivalent to a year's wages for a factory worker - and a Honda car.
But with the cost of a single pageant dress at least 10 000 baht, winning Miss Tiffany is about more than the prizes.
Most of the 30 transvestites parading across the glitter-filled stage said they were seeking social acceptance rather than money.
Nonk says she is lucky to have been accepted by her family as her father is a colonel in the Thai army.
Nonk said after the contest that she had known she wanted to be a girl from a very young age, and her military family were so understanding they now tell friends she is their daughter. They keep few photos of Nonk as a boy.
"They said I can be whatever I want to be so long as I take care of myself and other people," she said.
Miss Tiffany 2008 was crowned in a sold-out 2 000-seater theatre, and televised nationally.
The runners-up were Pailin "Bank" Denfhanapapol and Doolkamon "Golf" Kontun, with awards also given for Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic.
The event has become increasingly high profile, with winners forging careers as television presenters and as the faces of beauty products.
Miss Tiffany will now advance to the global competition, Miss International Queen, to be held here in October.

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Found at News24

The organisers of the annual Miss South Africa pageant have been in crisis the past week, after a woman who had had a sex-change operation wanted to enrol in a workshop for prospective participants, and encountered a very chilly welcome.
The identity of the woman, who used to be a man, was not revealed by Sun International, which owns the pageant.
It must still be decided whether the woman may participate in the contest.
The woman, whose age is also unknown, was apparently furious at the workshop in Johannesburg last week and threatened to take legal steps against the organisers.
Sue Klerck, the marketing manager of the pageant, confirmed the incident on Sunday, but could not give further information.
Laurie Botha, an expert in beauty pageants and the owner of an agency that scouts for prospective participants for the contest, said that the local rules of the contest had to be considered first.
The rules "say nothing specifically about the participation of transgender people.
"But the international competition rules can be used as a yardstick because the local winner will have to be sent to big competitions like Miss World later on."
Klerck said they have been using international rules as a yardstick for years, and these specifically dictate that participants have to be natural born women.

Found at News24

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