Pansexual Sydney nanny’s shock beauty pageant win

She came runner’s up in one of Australia’s most coveted beauty pageant competitions, now Sydney pansexual nanny Jessica Marchi says “we exist.” Here’s how she did it.

Sydney nanny Jessica Marchi claims to be the first pansexual to win an Australian beauty pageant.

The 27-year-old was at the weekend secured runner-up category Miss Air Australia while Phoebe Soegiono took home the Miss Earth Australia title and will represent the country at the Miss Earth International event in November.

“Based on the research that I have done, I haven’t seen anybody that has been openly pansexual (in an Australian beauty pageant),” she said. “There are so many different labels, everybody wants to put you in a box. People may feel like it is not the right platform to share their sexuality when actually I feel like it is the best platform to share. It is showing people that we exist and we are here.”

Pictured in Dee Why is Jessica Marchi, 27, who was crowned Miss Air Australia at the weekend. She claims to be first openly pansexual woman to win the title in the pageant. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Marchi, who is also an actor, was earlier this year a national finalist in Miss World Australia, which gave her the motivation to enter her second pageant, Miss Earth Australia.

“As I did it, it was one of the most amazing things because I realised how strong I feel about certain topics,” she said.

“I realised these pageants are giving me a platform to talk about the things that I care about. I am passionate about the environment and actually making a difference but also other things that I care about personally like being a pansexual woman and being an immigrant, I just feel like there needs to be more representation and I am not one of those people that is going to stay quiet and will say my opinion no matter what. What better way to do that than in a beauty pageant?”

Marchi, who moved to Australia from Italy at the age of 15 and was in a relationship with a woman for seven years up until last year, explained that “pansexual is being attracted to someone regardless of the gender whereas bisexual is being attracted to people of the same or different gender”.

Looking ahead, Marchi said she would consider entering further beauty pageants.

“The cut-off age is 27 so next year would be my last year that I can compete,” she said of Miss Universe Australia.

Meanwhile, other runner-ups in the Miss Earth Australia competition are South Australia’s Iris Le as Miss Fire Australia, and both from Victoria, Sarah Tute as Miss Earth Australia Charity and Miss Water Australia Nicole Wilson.

Originally published as Pansexual Sydney nanny’s shock beauty pageant win