I found this article. Miss Universe denies Transsexual Contestant from its' page

[ByeBye]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1151386--miss-universe-canada-yanks-transgendered-contestant-from-pageant

[Jamie D]

There are a couple of articles in the Opinions and Editorials board on this subject.

Not very fair.

[A_Dresden_Doll]

On the plus side, there is this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/jenna-talackova-transgender-miss-universe-finalist-twitter-support_n_1380243.html?ref=gay-voices

[Jamie D]

On the plus side, there is this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/jenna-talackova-transgender-miss-universe-finalist-twitter-support_n_1380243.html?ref=gay-voices

True, but that's sort of a lemon/lemonade situation.

[dalebert]

I'm engaged in two different Facebook threads on this subject involving mostly cis-gendered folks. What's especially bugging me is people calling her a liar because she was a "born woman".

My response:
From her POV, she was born a woman but her body was out of alignment with that and needed to be corrected. She corrected it. Not a lie. They just have a different definition than she.

Any other thoughts for responses to this?

[Ashley_C]

I read about this when I was at work. It's ridiculous. She's a beautiful woman and should be allowed to compete.

[CybeleNV9751]

I read the article and also saw the news segment on CBC (Canadian television).

I posted to the article my opinion that, as it is a beauty contest (albeit one run by Donald Trump, who only seems to like genetic women -- and only if they're young and hot), anyone looking as pretty as this contestant ought to be able to compete. 

What really bothered me, though, were all the very hateful comments left by others, along the lines of "No ->-bleeped-<-s or Homosexuals" (as if they were the same thing!).  There's a lot of transphobia and, I would add, transhate, out there in the world.  Yet I wonder if some of those commenters realize that many beautiful models who grace the covers of magazines such as Vogue are, in fact, transwomen.

[angelfaced]

I read the article and also saw the news segment on CBC (Canadian television).

I posted to the article my opinion that, as it is a beauty contest (albeit one run by Donald Trump, who only seems to like genetic women -- and only if they're young and hot), anyone looking as pretty as this contestant ought to be able to compete. 

What really bothered me, though, were all the very hateful comments left by others, along the lines of "No ->-bleeped-<-s or Homosexuals" (as if they were the same thing!).  There's a lot of transphobia and, I would add, transhate, out there in the world.  Yet I wonder if some of those commenters realize that many beautiful models who grace the covers of magazines such as Vogue are, in fact, transwomen.

LOL, what vogue have you been reading ? that would never happen in the united states. EVER.

[CybeleNV9751]

Perhaps it wasn't Vogue, but here is a transgender model on the cover of Elle:



Granted, this is the cover of the Brazil issue.  Still...

Here is the URL:

http://www.daily49er.com/2.18137/transgender-model-graces-mainstream-high-fashion-magazine-cover-1.2678080

Also, the same model (Lea T) appears in the following ad from Givenchy:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/11/transgender_model_lea_t_will_a.html

And in the French issue of Vogue:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/07/givenchys_transgender_fall_cam.html

[CybeleNV9751]

Oh, and we have American magazines as well, showing androgynous models:

http://www.fabsugar.co.uk/Andrej-Pejic-New-York-Magazine-Cover-2011-18788910

And apparently also transgender:

http://static02.mediaite.com/styleite/uploads/gallery/lea-t-lurve-mag/lea2.jpg

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Kate-Moss-and-Transgender-Model-Lea-T-Lock-Lips-for-LOVE-179307.shtml

America is truly way behind other countries of the world (Germany, Australia, Great Britain, etc.) in featuring transgendered models
or non-models on its magazine covers.  But it is beginning to catch up.   

[Sweet Blue Girl]

I heard this new told by collegues at work, i am not out yet, and my mind went totally offtheplanet, i feel both envy ( cause she was lucky to start that soon without parents battles and of course she is very femminine altough a bit exxagerated for the surgeries done) and support. It s good that all the women have the same right, but I also must say, is this true just for all the beautifoul women?

[Dahlia]

Just watched the youtube vid and all this facial surgery she  has had makes her look totally outlandish/alien.

A really gross looking, surgically overdone face.

How about the GG contestants? Is (obviously!!)having had plastic surgery allowed?

[Zarania]

you guys, seriously -.-

she KNEW the rules, but still she tried to cover it up, so they kicked her for BREAKING the rules, i guess if SHE had asked for an exception, she would've been allowed to participate.


imagine someone on rupaul's drag race and takes hormones, and after people find out she get's kicked out of the drag race, would be fair too, right?

[dalebert]

They need to be more specific in their rules. She didn't lie. They said "Born women only" or something like that, but I'm sure she would say she was born a woman and she just needed to get her body in alignment with her identity. They have a notion of what that means and she has a different notion of what that means, and their notion is probably not based much in reality. There was an article posted elsewhere on Susan's that talks about the high frequency of intersex people (1 in 150 minimum but probably more). So they need a clear definition in their rules if that's the route they want to take. Even if they did though, I think it could be pretty ->-bleeped-<-ty of them to have weird arbitrary rules meant to exclude transsexuals. But for instance, instead of saying born women only, they could have more clearly defined rules like that you can't be taking certain drugs (like hormones), that you can't have had plastic surgery (like breast implants), etc. They could argue that the goal is to prevent "cheating" with that being defined very specifically. Those are all things that can artificially enhance feminine beauty. But see... I don't think they want to discourage those things because it would disqualify a lot of very beautiful cis-women that they want for their ratings. They just want to arbitrarily exclude certain people because the idea makes them uncomfortable.

This is a lesson in realizing the problem is within them. They have issues to deal with. In a Facebook thread on this subject, a guy was so shocked at how attractive she was despite being born in a male body. He made a comment about being extra careful on his Thailand trip to identify trans women. I asked him "Unless your goal is to impregnate, why does it matter if you can't even tell?"