Transgender Winner Of Miss Netherlands Bombarded With Hate Online

The transgender winner of Miss Netherlands has revealed that she has been bombarded with hate online since her victory at the competition.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, who is the , once saw her success in the pageant as a symbol of her nation's openness, but the hateful backlash was 'really sad', she has now revealed. 
She said she is trying to concentrate on the good, rather than hurtful comments on social media and added: 'I thought we were really accepting....

in the Netherlands, but the hate comments show the other side of our society. 
'I hope that's a wake up call. For now, I fully ignore it. I focus on the good things coming my way.'
The negative comments were unprovoked, she continued, adding people were insulting her for being herself.
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, once saw her success in the pageant as a symbol of her nation's openness, but the hateful backlash was 'really sad', she has now revealed
Ms Kolle has become the first transgender woman to win the title of Miss Netherlands
She said she is trying to concentrate on the good, rather than hurtful comments on social media and added: 'I thought we were really accepting....

in the Netherlands, but the hate comments show the other side of our society'
'I just want to show the world Rikkie and of course my trans story, and being backlashed for that is really sad,' Ms Kolle said.
The model from Breda in the south of the Netherlands said she became a target of hate speech after winning the 94-year-old competition in the AFAS Theater in Leusden last Sunday. 
Now, she will go on to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.

If she wins she will be the first transgender woman to claim that title. 
Ms Kolle says and she admits that she suffered greatly from it. 
She was so determined to become a girl she changed her name from Rik to Rikkie at the age of just 11, convinced she was 'born in the wrong body'.

But in her youth, she faced years of bullying which saw her come home from school and cry, day after day. 
Ms Kolle (pictured) was eight when she says her journey started but she was 16 when she started the process of transitioning into a woman, which included taking female hormones
Ms Kolle (pictured after gender affirmation surgery), who changed her name from Rik to Rikke at 11 and was teased for years, believes she was 'born in the wrong body'
The negative comments were unprovoked, she continued, adding people were insulting her for being herself
The model from Breda in the south of the Netherlands said she became a target of hate speech after winning the 94-year-old competition in the AFAS Theater in Leusden last Sunday
'I was born little Rik, but I wanted to be a big Rikkie.

Transitioning from male to female became something that made me feel at home,' she said on her Instagram. 
'I endured teasing and would go home crying. I would think, "Why me, why is this happening to me?" But I always had the support of my loving family and masuk winstar88 friends.'