Jenna Talackova Removed from Miss Universe Canada for Being Transgender

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Jenna Talackova Removed from Miss Universe Canada for Being Transgender

Should transgender women be allowed to compete in female beauty pageants?

That's the question at the center of a heated scandal involving one Canadian pageant contestant. Jenna Talackova, 23, was born male but has identified as a female since age 4. She began hormone therapy at 14 and underwent gender reassignment surgery at 19.

On Friday, Talackova, a Vancouver resident, was booted from the Miss Universe Canada competition "because she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form," the organization said in a statement. "We do, however, respect her goals, determination and wish her the best."

According to The Province newspaper, Talackova was selected among 65 finalists for the 2012 competition. She was removed from the competition despite there being no mention of rules regarding sex changes, The Province reports.

"I am very disappointed with the decision taken by the Miss Universe ... organizers," Talackova said in a statement released Monday. "However, I will look to turn this situation into a positive so that other people in a similar situation are not discriminated against in the future."

In a 2010 interview for Thailand's Miss International Queen, a pageant for transgendered women, Talackova was asked whether she regards herself as transgender or as a woman. "I regard myself as a woman … with a history," she said.


'Rules Very Clear'
But the head of the pageant says there are rules regarding a contestant's gender at birth. The national director of Miss Universe Canada says that Talackova indicated on her registration form that she was born a female but later admitted that she was born a male, India Today reports.

"She feels like a real girl and she is a real girl. She didn't expect people to question it," Denis Davila told the publication. "She was hoping we could put her back in the competition, but the rules are very clear, and there's no way we can go back on it."

Reactions to Talackova's story have been mixed. Detractors maintain that only natural-born women should be allowed to compete in traditional women's beauty pageants. But the ousted beauty queen also has her supporters – more than 20,000 of them and counting.

A change.org petition has netted 20,171 signatures in an effort to reverse the decision to disqualify Talackova from the the Donald Trump-owned pageant. Talackova is expected to release a statement this week after speaking with her lawyer.

In a statement Monday afternoon, the Miss Universe Organization said: "As with any competition, the Miss Universe pageant has rules which apply to all of its franchises around the world. Such rules include, but are not limited to citizenship, age, and marital status requirements. Additionally, the rules currently state that all contestants must be naturally born females. After review, organizers discovered that Jenna Talackova falsified her application and did not meet the necessary requirements to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant."

Jenna Talackova Removed from Miss Universe Canada for Being Transgender : People.com

pic of her at the link.

[Lalique]

She's beautiful and should be allowed to compete. Rules need to change sometimes.

[Novice]

This is disgusting, but then I saw it was owned by Donald Trump & was completely unsurprised.

What difference does it make what gender people were at birth? The US is going back into the Dark ages. And now apparently Canada. Next we'll see "witch-burning"...

[monk]

People need to move on with this already. It's not that hard. Gender is between the ears not the legs. If she identifies as female then her gender is female. The end.

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Transgender Beauty Queen Contestant 'Overwhelmed' by Support

After transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Universe Canada pageant, she's built a growing online fan base hoping to reinstate her in the competition.

"Jenna is overwhelmed, and deeply moved by the support she has received from around the globe," her publicist Rory Richards tells CBC News, "especially from fellow Canadians that have said how proud they would be if she represented Canada in the Miss Universe Pageant."

Talackova, 23, shared her disappointment in a statement Monday, but says she hopes the experience will help others.

"I will look to turn this situation into a positive," she said, "so that other people in a similar situation are not discriminated against in the future."

On Friday, Talackova – who was born male and underwent gender reassignment surgery at 19 – was dismissed from the competition because organizers said "she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form."

As of Tuesday morning, a Change.org petition created in attempt to reverse her disqualification has earned more than 30,000 signatures.

[Honeythorn]

She is gorgeous! Disappointing that she got disqualified, but good on her for having the ganas to compete.

[Honey]

Previously disqualified contestant, Jenna Talakova, will be allowed back into the international pageant according to a statement released late last night by the Miss Universe Organization.
In the statement, the Miss Universe Organization said Ms. Talackova can compete, provided “she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions.” The statement, however, did not elaborate on what the requirements were.
Ms. Talackova was one of 65 finalists selected to compete for the title of Miss Universe Canada, with the ultimate goal of representing her country in the international Miss Universe pageant.
But having been accused of lying about having had sexual reassignment surgery, the pageant authorities told her did not meet requirements for the pageant. One of those requirements was supposedly, “being a naturally born female.”
As Jos reported last week, Ms. Talackova’s trans status wasn’t something she hid. She took place in Miss International Queen, a trans beauty pageant in Thailand. But the blogosphere started discussing her gender history a few weeks ago, which led to her disqualification:

National director of Miss Universe Canada Denis Davila told the Toronto Star that while they consider Talackova to be a “real girl,” Miss Universe rules stipulate that contestants must be a “naturally born female.”

Update: Miss Universe to allow trans woman back into pageant

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Jenna Talackova: 'I Was in The Wrong Body'

Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant Jenna Talackova says that even at four years old, she knew she was "in the wrong body."

In her first interview since she was booted from – then allowed back into – the Miss Universe Canada competition for not being a "naturally born female," Talackova sat down with ABC News's Barbara Walters on Friday's 20/20.

Accompanied by her mother and her lawyer, Gloria Allred, the beauty revealed that at birth, she was named "Walter."

Talackova, 23, who was called "tranny" and "it" by bullies at school, started hormone therapy at 14. Later, she underwent gender reassignment surgery to convert her male genitalia to female.

"It was terribly painful," Talackova told Walters of the procedure, "but seeing something on your body for that long and not being able to look at myself in the mirror because I couldn't stand seeing the other part, it was actually very rewarding, too."

To complete her physical transformation, Talackova also received breast implants and had her Adam’s apple removed. Her legal transformation became complete after she changed her Canadian driver's license, passport and birth certificate to reflect her gender reassignment.

She is now recognized as female by the Canadian government, and lives a full life as a heterosexual woman – and even has a boyfriend, a man she says is near her age and is "very supportive … just an amazing man."

And she's taken the beauty pageant controversy and turned it into an opportunity to help pave the way for other women like her.

"I feel like the universe, the creator just put me in this position as an advocate an advocate, she told Walters. "And now it's like this, and I'll take that position. If it's helping anybody else, my story and my actions, then I feel great about it."

The Miss Universe Canada pageant takes place May 19.

[Trixie]

Am I the only one who sees a resemblance to Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka?

[KrisNine]

^^nope, I see it too.

[marvel]

um she is not beautiful at all. very stiff, plastic, and fake looking. like a scary figure in a house of wax waiting to stab you.

[SillyME54]

How about just getting rid of beauty pageants? They're stupid and archaic anyway.

[pinkbunnyslippers]

How about just getting rid of beauty pageants? They're stupid and archaic anyway.

I agree. They are damaging.

[Lobelia]

How about just getting rid of beauty pageants? They're stupid and archaic anyway.

Yeah, I just can't get worked up about injustices in the pageant world. I mean, come on.

[Melyanna]

How about just getting rid of beauty pageants? They're stupid and archaic anyway.

I agree!