Trangendered Miss Universe Canada Contestant Takes the Stage

[Jamie D]

Trangendered Miss Universe Canada Contestant Takes the Stage

After much controversy and a rule change, the first-ever transgendered contestant competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant in Toronto on Thursday night. Jenna Talackova, 23, is from Vancouver, and though she was born male, she underwent sexual reassignment surgery four years ago and was allowed to compete. According to the Daily Mail, Talackova was one of 62 women who strut their stuff in evening gowns and bikinis on stage for a panel of 15 judges. The winner will be crowned on Saturday.

Back in March, Talackova was in the finals of the Miss Vancouver competition when pageant officials kicked her out claiming she lied about her natural-born gender on her application. But there were no apparent rules on sex change operations—the only requirements to enter the Miss Universe Canada competition are that contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 27 and have Canadian citizenship. In retaliation, over 20,000 people signed an online petition on Change.org fighting for Talackova's right to compete.