Mara La Torre

Mara Orendain La Torre (born 1993) is a Philippine fashion model. In 2021, she became the first transgender woman known to compete in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant.

She had previously gained media attention after filing charges due to being blocked from using the women's restroom at her workplace.

Early life La Torre was born in 1993 in Manila, Philippines. She had sex reassignment surgery before her rise to prominence in 2014.

Bathroom lawsuit In 2014, La Torre worked as a call center agent at a business process outsourcing company. That year, while working at Teleperformance, two security guards prevented her from using the women's restroom. She filed a lawsuit against them which gained media coverage in outlets such as GMA News, ABS-CBN News, and The Philippine Star.

After La Torre shared her discrimination experience on national news, 30 LGBTQ groups signed a solidarity statement with her.

The Gender-Fair Ordinance was enacted in Quezon City in 2014 to prohibit discrimination specific to the LGBTQ community.

Some universities in the Philippines installed third-gender bathrooms in 2014 such as St. Louis University in Baguio, Lyceum of the Philippines University, and Ateneo de Davao.

Since La Torre's case in 2014, other transgender women such as KaladKaren have shared their stories of being denied entry to clubs, bars, and other establishments.

Executive Director of EnGenderRights, Clara Rita Padilla who assisted La Torre with her lawsuit in 2014, cited the case in 2019 as the first success story, as it led to the building of the first all-gender restrooms in Quezon City even without national law.

After the incident saw worldwide media attention, La Torre received hate messages and harassment. Major donors removed their financial support, and Miss Universe filed for bankruptcy days before the pageant was set to occur.

Filmography Television