Despite the fact that Jenna Talackova is more stunning than most biological females, the powers that control the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant have disqualified her, reports the Toronto Star.
Writes the Star:
According to Denis Davila, national director of Miss Universe Canada, the rules set by the Miss Universe franchise state that each contestant must be a “naturally born female.” According to Davila, Talackova claimed on her registration form she was born a female. He said he suspected otherwise and asked her about it on March 13, when she admitted she was not. She was pulled from the contest that day.
Now internet outrage has bubbled up over the incident, and a change.org petition has over 30,000 signatures demanding she be allowed to compete.
In a 2010 interview, Talackova said she knew she was a female at age 4 and began hormone therapy at age 14, before undergoing gender reassignment surgery at 19.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
That Jenna has a better bikini body than 99% of the female population ought to make these anti-trans pageant directors ashamed of themselves.
Photo via Model Mayhem
Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi)
I’m glad they did this. It’s MISS Universe, not Mister Universe, and that contestant is still a man, whether you want to admit it or not.
pixipie
I’m glad they did this. Now the spotlight is on them and the revolution can begin. It’s time for change, whether you want to admit it or not.
nugoyxi
LOL @pixipie
I hope nothing changes. It’s a woman’s pageant, men shouldn’t be allowed in it, plain
and simple. He may have boobs and have taken female hormones, but he still has the male
body and and male DNA, therefore he is male. If I got cat tattoos and fangs and tried
to enter a cat show, people would call me insane.
Clockwork
Private enterprise: They set the rules — ( for their contest, nothing beyond it )
What they decide has no bearing on transgenders outside this event.
sheena
wow so much ignorance from these comments hopefully its not gay men who are saying these……if so…shame on u for segregating
Phantom
We all know that she was born male, but the difference is that she believe and is female. It’s miss universe, not born miss universe. I highly doubt that she is trying to be controversial or anything like that, she truly believe that she is female and who are we to tell her that she is not one. It’s like telling a gay person that they cannot be gay because it’s “wrong.” We don’t have to agree with her choices, opinions, lifestyle, etc, in the end of the day, she’s female no matter what you think or say so.
LittIe,Kiwi
here’s my stance – what makes her surgeries any different from the countless other surgeries undertaken by other contestants who were born with wholly-female bodies?
if they can justify breast augmentation, nose jobs, and other forms of cosmetic surgery then why not THIS kind?
I’d side with the pageant if it was about being *cough cough* “Natural Women”…but it aint a pageant for natural women.
and the contestant is not a man. and any of you sad homosexuals who can’t understand that are truly pathetic.
Charlie
She is lady, a Y chromosome should not be the deciding factor. I hope she is allowed to compete.
pixipie
@nugoyxi: Thanks for clarifying your stance. I disagree because she had gender reassignment surgery, identifies as a woman, and now is a woman physically. This isn’t a night out for halloween. I don’t think it’s insane for a woman to enter a “Miss” Pagent. She shouldn’t have lied, but because it was a matter that was pursued makes me question whether the motives were truly fueled by fairness for the other contestants.
nugoyxi
@Sheena I’m a woman actually 🙂
He’s not a woman. Nothing he can do will change that. Take a sample of his DNA, it will say male.
sheena
for the ignorant bigots out there…..being transgendered is not a choice..,..AND NO WE ARE NOT BORN A MAN WE ARE BORN A WOMAN TRAPPED IN A MANS BODY…..from the moment itself we started thinking we know we are transgendered and wanna be woman so are u gay people…ur not born men ur born gays…..we have a hard life being discriminated upon by people coz of the sexuality we are born with…..like all of u we didnt chose to be this way…we didnt choose to be rejected by companies coz of what our paper says…we have a hard time finding a relationship for the misconception is always its either we are freaks or just for sex….seeing comments of hatred from gay people is more painfull than seeing the hatred we usually see from straight people…..just because u dont understand us….ur not even saved from discrimination yet u are throwing discriminatory comments and hatefull comments that a transperson would feel so hurt readin……its not easy to be a woman….its not easy to be a transgender…..we are a woman…we talk like a woman we look like a woman we lived our life as a woman….men see us as a woman…so never call us a man……
sheena
@nugoyxi: but ur ignorant im sure ur not a beautifull woman….wanna compare our facebook profiles….i am not a biological woman…u are…im sure u look like kingkong
Adrian
The Miss Universe Canada website doesn’t have listed all the rules and requirments for being a contestant in the pageant. That being said, if they don’t have a claus stating that only women who were assiginged the sex of female at birth are allowed to compete then they will probably ad that clause next year.
sheena
@pixipie: dont compare a trans woman to a holloween party……thats ur life being a spooky ghoulish ignorant being…..our liufe is full of fights and suffering…..u dont know what u are saying…..stop ur ignorance and go back to school…
sheena
@LittIe,Kiwi: thank you for those words…..ur a very intelligent person
sheena
@nugoyxi: wheres ur facebook profile im waiting i wanna post on my wall and compare…whats the point of being a real woman if u dont look like a woman….. 🙂
LittIe,Kiwi
gay people who refuse to understand and empathize with our transgendered brothers and sisters are truly pathetic.
http://youtu.be/zJom6vyRtQc
check it out.
again – if other women are allowed to alter their bodies with surgery, why not this one?
sheena
@nugoyxi: so? B****? show me how pretty of a woman u are before us judge TRANSSEXUALS
nugoyxi
@Sheena
I’m decent looking, I’d say a 7. And I don’t have social networking accounts, they’re not my thing. You need to chill out. Me being anti transgenderism and that I think only women should compete in women’s pageants has nothing to do with my looks. You’re not helping your case at all.
nugoyxi
@Sheena
I don’t mind someone feeling like the other gender or dressing as such, but mutilating your body and going in the bathrooms, dressing rooms, etc of your “new” gender is wrong and changing it on your license, passport is an insult to women.
sheena
@nugoyxi: GIRL i dont believe u aint got social network…..u seems like u have so much time reading a queerty article miss FEMINIST go now!!! yah it does matter to us…coz im sure ur one of those insecure VETCHES!!! who cant get over the femininity of trans woman over ur biological ignorant self…..i love all my girl friends…..but what i cant stand….and ignorant fish smelling bigot like u…..and GIRRLLL we dont mutilate our body….yes ur face looks mutilated by a hammer but not us…by mutilating u mean surgeries…..in a NORMAL PEOPLES mouth…..then women and men do MUTILATE themselves as well…ur just jealous….why?…coz ur nothing but a piece of insecure trash…if ur decent looking….u wont be hatin….GURRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL!!!!
sheena
@nugoyxi: 7 over a hundred??? wow thats bad GURLLL i guess u have to MUTILATE URSELF MORE…..u really sound ignorant….we look like females….we act and move like….and we had sex change…why would we use mens bathroom….ur ignorance do nothing but promote more violence and hate….u shouldnt exist in this world….u should be erased in this planet….u think like a mountain creature
pixipie
@nugoyxi: Do you mind my asking… do you think it is wrong on a biological, spiritual or cultural level? What makes transgenderism so fundamentally wrong when the people who have access to the psychological and medical procedures feel they “corrected” the wrong gender to which they were born? What of the results? (All apologies for the over-simplification and misspelling *pageant in last comment)
nugoyxi
@Sheena
7 out o 10. Ever heard of the saying “She’s a 10?’ For f*ck’s sake.
-I don’t mutilate myself, thank you very much. You’re a horrible person.
-You should use the men’s bathroom because you have male genitals.
-I don’t promote violence at all. I would never physically attack someone because they are transgender, that’s horrible.
-You think I should be erased from this planet? Horrible people like you who tell me to hurt myself and call me ugly, etc, should be erased from this planet.
-I don’t think like a mountain creature, you do based on your spelling/grammar and the things you’ve said to me aka mutilate yourself, you’re ugly, etc. F*ck off.
@pixiepie
Biological and cultural, I’m very unspiritual lol. I just think it’s wrong to mess up your body like that, I believe the gender your DNA says is your real gender and that shouldn’t be messed with.
sheena
@nugoyxi: ill stop commenting i guess i already proved my point….specially to u….i just realized i wasted my time hating on u and ur ignorance…..im not gonna say i love you but i love everyone…..but ignorance…..makes our life harder as what it is now…..i hope one day u find it in ur heart to learn what u cant understand….i hope one day u wont have kids telling u….mom …i wanna be a woman…..i hope ur son wont be kicked out of his house because of that….be homeless…..and be abused by people on streets…..find it in ur heart to understand what u cant understand….sorry for the hardh words ive said….we are a woman….i was born what u call a man but i knew the first time i think and speak i wanna be a woman…..body is like a car….u travel with it…..u work with it…u add u remove something u remodel….so that ur trip is more COMFORTABLE….we didnt choose to be this way….if we could just escape from it we will….but we couldnt…..the only way we could escape this is fight survive and work harder….to achieve the look that we should own…thats rightfully ours…..its like kids born with aids….they didnt chose to be born with aids….but they wish theres cure
nugoyxi
@Sheena
I am never having children so it doesn’t matter to me.
Like I said, I’m fine with feeling like the other gender or dressing that way, but not mutilating your body.
sheena
@nugoyxi: and no i dont have to fix my GRAMMAR!!!….im sure u do understand what im saying….i dont have to sound like a proffesor here….im not the smartest person like u are….i get C i get F……but i know so many things that i dont learn from school…..whatever you say….goodluck…..break your leg….I MEAN BREAK A LEG!
Empyrean
@nugoyxi: You may be a woman, but it’s obvious from your comments that you’re no lady.
pixipie
@nugoyxi: “I don’t think like a mountain creature…” Good god, girl. Should I admit, that got a laugh outta me.
nugoyxi
@Sheena
Actually, it’s somewhat difficult to understand you. It also makes you sound more intelligent, you should try that sometimes.
Wow you’re damn pathetic. Telling me to break a leg? You need serious psychological help.
Here’s the phone number to the National Mental Health Association to deal with your severe anger issues 1-800-969-6642.
BlackJack
So much body negative bullshit.
Pageants are stupid, but the lady is a lady, if a stupid lady. Let her compete for most vain, anorexic know-nothing.
Trans or not her life is shallow and pathetic.
nugoyxi
@pixipie
The only time I think like a mountain creature is in bed 😉
Adrian
@nugoyxi: I understand your point of view.
JayKay
So a man isn’t allowed to compete in a womens’ beauty pageant…
I fail to see the problem.
Adrian
@JayKay: the problem may be in how the “naturally born female” rule is phraced on the pageant’s legal documents. if by “naturally born female” they mean that contestants must present their original birth certificat then Jenna Talackova has no case.
LittIe,Kiwi
ignore JayKay, he’s still upset that his own white parents hate having a gay son.
this is why he posts anti-trans and anti-black comments. he’s bitterly upset that his own parents wish he wasn’t their son. fact.
pixipie
@Adrian: Does that mean Chaz Bono, who is a man, and identifies as a man, qualifies for the competition?
j. matthew
I am a proud gay man, but it’s things like this that make me angry about the LGBT movement. Yes, Jenna Talackova is beautiful and it would be nice if she could compete in the pageant. But the fact of the matter is that she doesn’t qualify based on the pageant’s rules. And on top of that, she lied about it. Therefore, she isn’t allowed to compete. Case closed. The LGBT movement has no right to be angry about this…
Wys
sometimes the trans hate makes me want to kill myself.
Adrian
@pixipie: good point. IF by “naturally born female” they mean the sex that is on a contestant’s original birth certificate then YES Chaz would qualify base on that rule. however, I have a feeling the pageant has an age limit and Chaz might be past it.
that’s the thing about competitions. they have rules
Charlie
Transwomen are women. If you can look at the lovely lady in that picture and say she does not belong in the pageant then you are kidding yourself.
Charlie
@j. matthew: But aren’t we often challenging unfair rules… like for example the one where same-sex couples can’t marry?
Adrian
@Adrian: unfortunatly Chaz doesn’t meet the basic requirement to enter the Miss Universe Canada because Chaz is not a Canadian citizen (that I’m aware of) and Chaz is not under 27 years of age.
Ok, ok
I wouldn’t have known she was trans without being told and she’s hot as hell. Sounds like they were just upset they were attracted to her to me.
Homophobes hate having to question their sexuality or ideas about sexuality, gender, or beliefs.
pixipie
@Adrian: I understand the basis of the point that is being made, but I do not understand why it is taking so long to abolish it. I suppose that just as there are people who still believe being “black” is a biological inferiority and should not “mix” with “whites,” it will be ages before transgendered individuals have the same rights and acceptance as other human beings.
nugoyxi
@pixipie
Nobody chose to be black. Transgender people chose to change their bodies. Black people aren’t mutilating their bodies any lying. Transgender people are mutilating their bodies and lying.
pixipie
@nugoyxi: If more black people had access to the medical procedures afforded to Michael Jackson, I would agree. Given the opportunity and the hate-filled climate, MJ was driven to deny and medically alter his natural state to give into what was socially acceptable. I am glad that we are promoting a social climate of acceptance (albeit too little too late) for modern day LGBT individuals.
todd
Wowser…when did we start really disliking those who are transgendered? I can’t say she lied unless there was a box on the application which specificaly asked if she had a gender reassignment surgery. I doubt there is a box for that and challenge anyone on here to prove there was.If the recognition of her status is in question why not check her drivers license or some other form of I.D. Does it say female for her gender? If it does than it means by the definition of the Canadian government she is a female. So what if she had male sex genitalia, why the persistant rudeness. It’s cold. If it were a guy saying he was disqualified we would be ordering a recount or getting twenty lawyers ready for a court battle. Yet all she wants to do is participate in what she considers a good program with the possibility of succeeding at one of her dreams. Not too long ago a certain little girl dreamed of flying over a rainbow way up high, always wondering why oh why she couldn’t fly. For gay men who identified with this longing to do something special why do we begrudge this pageant dreamer over flying over her rainbow? Have we gotten so bitter and cold that we can only be happy berating those who dared to dream?
pixipie
@nugoyxi: No one chooses to be born into the wrong gender. But these persons seem to have the right to be discriminated against and CHOOSE to do so, for self-destruction sake. Some people just love to be the victim.
Adrian
@pixipie: I think what people are confusing here is the fact that this is a private competition dealing with and not people’s rights. if the organizers can set an age limit they can certainly set a “sex” limit. I was in a drag beauty pageant when I was 17 years old at my high school back in 1997 – NO BIOLOGICAL GIRLS WERE ALLOWED TO COMPETE. The pageant consisted of gay and straight men, sexual orientation didn’t matter but “biological sex” did. A pageant is a game and the game makers can choose the rules.
nugoyxi
@pixipie
You’re the gender your DNA says. To feel that way is one thing, but to attempt to change that is disgusting and should be illegal.
JayKay
@todd:
More and more free-thinking gays are rejecting the leftist lie that is “TLBG.” They’re waking up and realizing that we stand a much better chance of accomplishing our goals without the trans community dragging us all down like an anchor around our collective necks. It’s a beautiful thing.
nugoyxi
Yeah, it should be LGB without the T. Sexual orientation /=/ “gender identity”.
Charlie
@Adrian: Ah but often here on Queerty we see examples of situations where private organizations do not want to extend their benefits or membership to gay folks. Generally the response is “That’s not right, gay folks should be allowed to take part.” In this case though everyone seems to be saying “rules is rules.” So the next time we see an article about a restaurant kicking out two gay men will everyone continue with that tune?
Adrian
@Charlie: Charlie, I understand the outrage about not being allowed to play with a certain group of people. No one likes to be left out at the playground but let’s put it into perspective. But a pageant is not a restaurant.
What do you think would happen if a biological woman would try to enter the Miss Tiffany Universe pageant
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/16/miss-tiffany-universe-tra_n_204279.html
ChrisC
@nugoyxi: Clearly you’re a very ignorant person. I’m not Transgender, but I strongly suggest you watch this video, it will probably clear some things up for you =) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5M1ym07Zlg
Melissa
Soooooo she should enter a Mister Universe contest, looking like THAT? Yeah, that would go over well. It’s a BEAUTY pageant, and she’s BEAUTIFUL. I don’t understand the problem.
Ok, ok
Is it really hard for white people to express themselves on issues without dragging black people into everything?
The irony is you show how little you respect us as people by using us as tools to defend others against discrimination.
I originally posted in favor of this woman because I feel she was being disrespected and I had to stop to explain why it’s infuriating to constantly see black people being brought up.
Now we suddenly hate ourselves so much we all want to be white and that somehow is comparable to being transgender? WHAT?!
White people, please, do you ever get tired of repeating past mistakes over and over and over and over? Seriously. You’re at the root of every issue, you drag black people into every issue, and you can’t just CHANGE YOUR WAYS to end every issue. WTF? You’ve been running this country into the ground since you committed mass genocide of an entire people hundreds of years ago.
Use yourselves as examples and ask each other to change because you are the problem. Not black people, not Hispanic people, not Asians, not Native Americans, etc. I know, I know, it’s hard for you to admit any wrongdoing in anything.
This article is about white people discriminating against white people and black people come up once again. What exactly will change because you brought Michael up out of the grave? Focus on the people with the power to discriminate on a level that physically and emotionally harms others.
Gauthier
WILL ALL YOU IGNORANT, MOUTHBREATHING, SEXIST AND TRANSPHOBIC PIECES OF ANAL ROT PLEASE SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP??? you all make me SICK to my very core. To everyone using the excuse that she broke the rule of “natural-born” woman, maybe you should stop jerking off to your own pettiness and realize that that’s exactly what should be fought against? It’s completely putdated and discriminates against people who were born in the wrong body. And as someone else stated above; with all the surgeries the other contestants undergo, I see no indication she is any less natural than them.
I gotta say though Sheena; you’re not making a case for yourself at all because retaliating with misogyny, and basing the success of your argument on who is the hottest, is the wrong way to go.
In short; I am appalled by the vile sack of festering non-arguments that burst open and poisoned this post with atrocious hate and ignorance. The piece of shit who kept referring to the girl as a “he”… No, you certainly are not a lady and obstinate stupidity like yours is what makes me wonder how the human species survive still. And all the middling boneheads “seeing her point” can go fuck themselves, too.
One more time, to get it off my chest; to all those concerned (bar the sensible people who made appropriate comments) PLEASE GO POUND A MOTHERLOVING POUND OF SAND UP YOUR WORDHOLES, YOU WORTHLESS OOZING PILES OF VULTURE SHIT.
There, I feel better.
InscrutableTed
@nugoyxi: “You’re the gender your DNA says.”
Yeah, tell that to women with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. They have male chromosomes, but are born with vaginas and develop breasts, and are visually indistinguishable from women with typical chromosomes. They almost always identify as female.
“To feel that way is one thing, but to attempt to change that is disgusting and should be illegal.”
Okay, now I don’t know if you’re just a troll or have psychological issues.
nugoyxi
@Gauthier
Yes, I am a lady thank you very much, if you examine my DNA you’ll find I’m female.
@InscrutableTed
Intersex is another thing. I support gender reassignment surgery to the gender their DNA says.
nugoyxi
@InscrutableTed
I’m not a troll and I don’t have psychological issues, I just don’t support people mutilating their bodies so they can lie about their gender.
Jacob
@nugoyxi: You’re very ignorant. “mutilating their bodies so they can lie about their gender.” makes zero sense.
nugoyxi
@Jacob
1. A FTM is taking her breasts off, that’s one example
2. They’re taking hormones of the other gender to try to be more like them
3. They’re still lying. A FTM is not male, a MTF is not female. They are the gender their DNA says. I don’t want a MTF in my dressing rooms, changing rooms, etc. as they are still males. I don’t want to go to a lesbian club or bar and talk to a MTF and not have him tell me right away he is really male.
nugoyxi
@Jacob
1. A FTM is taking her breasts off, that’s one example
2. They’re taking hormones of the other gender to try attempt to change their gender as much as possible
3. They’re still lying. A FTM is not male, a MTF is not female. They are the gender their DNA says. I don’t want a MTF in my dressing rooms, changing rooms, etc. as they are still males. I don’t want to go to a lesbian club or bar and talk to a MTF and not have him tell me right away he is really male
This man was lying because he was entering a pageant for females, and he is not one.
nugoyxi
To add to 1. Or binding them permanently (I don’t mind drag kings)
Jacob
@nugoyxi: “he”? Alright, there’s no reason to be a giant dick here. Jenna is female, you don’t think so, that’s your opinion, NOT a FACT. Many EDUCATED doctors/psychiatrists would strongly disagree with that a opinion, as well as using the term mutilation. Being trans is as much a choice as being gay. You may say “well they made the choice to get hormones/surgery” but the only other option they feel they have is death.
nugoyxi
@Jacob
HIS DNA says MALE. Like I said, feeling like another gender is completely fine. But you CHOOSE to attempt to change your gender.
If they feel like they would rather die, they need psychological help.
Jacob
@nugoyxi: “Like I said, feeling like another gender is completely fine. But you CHOOSE to attempt to change your gender.” Why is it okay to feel another gender, but not to get a sex change? Again, makes zero sense. “If they feel like they would rather die, they need psychological help.” the transition from one gender to the other is help, help that that is approved by a PSYCHIATRIST.
nugoyxi
@Jacob
Because it never gets the job done. They never have the proper body parts, they never are able to change their DNA. It’s also wrong that they lie to people upon meeting them at bars and clubs, and that they get to go in their “new” gender’s bathrooms, dressing rooms, etc. It’s also not what nature gave you.
Gauthier
@Jacob: Don’t feed the troll… I cannot fathom why people are still trying to reason with this piece of shit. Whoever she is, she’s just one delusional numbwit who’s already been given way too much attention anyway. Her arguments don’t make one iota of sense and she has been answering posts for way too long for it not to be suspicious. DISMISSED.
Curtis
This is appalling.
I am disgusted by the trans-phobic comments.. and on an article entitled, (tagged, watvr) “Transphobia”
nugoyxi
@Gauthier
I’m not a troll. If I was a troll, I’d be anti LGB or racist. I’m a lesbian who has been visiting this site for some time.
The reason I keep answering is because I haven’t had much to do today, I’ll be busy tomorrow morning though :).
Jacob
@Gauthier: You’re right. I don’t know why I bother because I’m never going to change their opinion. No matter how many facts you put on the table some poeple are just to dumb to get it.
Farquart
Are real women allowed to compete in the transexual beauty pageants? Fair is fair.
Belize
@JayKay: “I fail to see the problem”
Find a mirror.
on the fence
Talackova lied about her sexuality. Regardless of how physically beautiful she may be, lying is unbecoming of a Ms. Universe contestant. So set aside your outrage. Dishonesty, not transsexuality, was the specific reason she was disqualified. And rightly so.
Thomas Alex
@Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi):
Another uneducated ignorant person you are. That’s like saying “a gay person is still straight whether you want to admit it or not.”
Chris
@Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi): wrong. just plain and simple. you are wrong.
April
@nugoyxi: In the womb, gonads turn either into testes creating a male, or ovaries creating a female and blocking testosterone. The genetics sometimes get messed up and the gender goes the wrong way..or doesn’t fully go either way. If the gonads never turn into either, the fetus will develop female parts on the outside, but not ovaries or a uterus nor will there be a production of estrogen (hence no period, no boobs) So are these people male or female considering your logic? The point is, it doesn’t matter what your “parts” say you are…it’s who you are on the INSIDE that makes you male, or female. She was born with make parts, but was always a female in her heart. It’s not her fault her genes got mixed up.
Thomas Alex
@nugoyxi:
I take if you never went to school since you seem to lack education on biology and genetics and human sexual orientation. But it’s ok to be ignorant, I just hope you do something about it. They had no right to disqualify her by claiming she is not a female when in fact she’s. You can deny scientific facts and evidence all you want, but it won’t change the fact that you are indeed ignorant.
pixipie
@Ok, ok: Fair enough. I brought up the issue of culture and identity, but I am not white. I am Hispanic. I was trying to make the issue relatable. I didn’t mean to rattle your cage. Discrimination against a group of people should be easily relatable by other discriminated groups, but sometimes the blinders keep us from understanding and supporting each other.
April
@April: I mean she was born with MALE parts, but was always a female in her heart. It only matters who you are in your heart. Screw what the body parts say you are!
ShaunoftheDead
@pixipie: Sorry to tell you, but Micheal Jackson did not CHOOSE to change his skin colour. He had a skin disease and in order to hide the effects, he had no choice but to colour his skin to the shade that it was changing to. Look it up.
And for the record, most of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Especially if you are homosexual and have felt discriminated against before in your life (and I’m sure you have directly or indirectly), why discriminate yourselves? Why spread hate? What kind of a world do we live in that we have to be so full of hate and negativity? You’re all hypocrites. You might as well tell yourselves that you’ve CHOSEN to be gay, because we all know that being is just a “lifestyle”, right? Well, it’s the same as being transgendered. You don’t choose to be gay, you don’t choose be a transgender. You don’t choose to be straight.
You don’t CHOOSE to mutilate your body, you don’t. It’s not a choice. No one wants to go through all the hassles and loops in the healthcare system just to “cut” their body up and take a needle for the rest of their life and still live with the mental scarring of knowing that they will never fit in because of bigots like you. And there’s a whole medical world dedicated to helping transgender transition to their correct gender, there’s a lot of regulations to determine whether transitioning to their correct gender is the right path, etc, and certainly, this woman is a woman. She does not have a penis anymore (and to be honest, if you know anything, gender and sex is something very complex – I can go into the science behind all of this but the majority of you seem to be so full of your bigoted ideas anyways).
I just hope you all open up and research more about transgenders to better understand what being a transgender is all about before passing cruel judgement. Really, who are you that you think you have some divine ability to judge someone else’s life? You’re not perfect, neither is she. Get over yourselves.
ShaunoftheDead
Btw, I’m straight. I support the LGBT. Yes, WITH the T.
HeatherEK
@nugoyxi: Haha, good point!
Belize
@nugoyxi: This is not an attack on you because I do see where you are coming from. This is a bit long but please, bear with me in the interest of trying to explain something to you.
So I am correct to assume that you are a lesbian, right? OK. Good.
Tell me: how does it feel every time some hyper-conservative nut job (like JayKay) tells you that your lesbianism is not real? That you actually have the power to capacity to be straight and enjoy having sex with men but you just choose not to because you’re just confuse or being a lesbian despite the many dangers of being LGBT is something that just make you feel special? How do you feel whenever you hear about all those lesbians especially in Africa who are raped by straight men in an attempt to “cure” them? How does it feel every time someone views your sexual orientation, a very pivotal part of your humanity, as an insubstantial sham that can and SHOULD be easily “cured?”
Speaking as a gay man, I can say that statements and actions of a similar nature were annoying when I was younger because no one, AND I MEAN NO ONE, has the capacity to know the gravity of what I feel. No one other than my self has the ability to feel exactly what I feel. In short, no one knows me better than me therefore no one can define my sexual orientation better than me.
What you are doing is that you are subjecting this person to the same view that has plagued the LGBT ever since straight people and self-loathing closet cases (JayKay) decided that they have the right to meddle with our personal lives.
OK, you argue that down to an atomic level, there is something there that would tell you she’s male. Honey, people can say the similar thing about you and they can even base it on an organic and systematic level. They can say really ignorant shit like, you have a vagina therefore your body should be longing for a penis inside you.
The question we should be asking is this: how is it in Jenna Talackova’s mindset? How does she really feel? And considering the fact that our feelings are enough
More importantly, knowing that in this day and age there are still people like you and people far worse than you, knowing the dangers and the painful effects of the reassignment surgery, and knowing the amount of time and money it takes to complete her transformation, why would she still go through with it? Perhaps it is because there is an unyielding desire that can emulate your desire to eat pussy and my desire to suck dick (or something to that effect.) Maybe it is her identity.
And in line with that, we should also ask if there is a provision in the beauty pageant which explicitly states that it is open not to females but to those who are born anatomically female.
Personally, I do not see it as an insult to women that one person born a man would be willing to go through so much just to be a woman. I do not think that she is belittling the female gender by telling you that it can be achieved through science because I wouldn’t be surprised if her mindset, which is most likely something that has not been tampered by science, is what shapes her identity. This seems to be a simple case of a person trying to find happiness.
Wayne
Look I’m about as progressive as they come being strait and all but this isn’t about the tranny. This is about rules that the pageant has set out for its competition. These rules clearly outline that contestants must be naturally born female, not gender reassigned. These are rules that the tranny obviously knew and lied about. They had every right to boot her.
This isn’t a discrimination thing, this isn’t even grounds to cause a “revolution” over. Dude got caught, big deal. I’m sure there are other pageants the transgendered girl can participate in that is friendly to the g/b/t community, and if not there you go people, you got your first spokesperson. But for this Miss Universe pageant I just don’t see them having done anything wrong. That’s like saying someone who won the lotto by rigging the system should still get their money because they won even though they cheated.
Belize
@nugoyxi: This is not an attack on you because I do see where you are coming from. This is a bit long but please, bear with me.
So I am correct to assume that you are a lesbian, right? OK. Good.
Tell me: how does it feel every time some hyper-conservative nut job (like JayKay) tells you that your lesbianism is not real? That you actually have the power to capacity to be straight and enjoy having sex with men but you just choose not to because you’re just confuse or being a lesbian despite the many dangers of being LGBT is something that just make you feel special? How do you feel whenever you hear about all those lesbians especially in Africa who are raped by straight men in an attempt to “cure” them? How does it feel every time someone views your sexual orientation, a very pivotal part of your humanity, as an insubstantial sham that can and SHOULD be easily “cured?”
Speaking as a gay man, I can say that statements and actions of a similar nature were annoying when I was younger because no one, AND I MEAN NO ONE, has the capacity to know the gravity of what I feel. No one other than my self has the ability to feel exactly what I feel. In short, no one knows me better than me therefore no one can define my sexual orientation better than me.
What you are doing is that you are subjecting this person to the same view that has plagued the LGBT ever since straight people and self-loathing closet cases (JayKay) decided that they have the right to meddle with our personal lives.
OK, you argue that down to an atomic level, there is something there that would tell you she’s male. Honey, people can say the similar thing about you and they can even base it on an organic and systematic level. They can say really ignorant shit like, you have a vagina therefore your body should be longing for a penis inside you.
The question we should be asking is this: how is it in Jenna Talackova’s mindset? How does she really feel? More importantly, knowing that in this day and age there are still people like you and people far worse than you, knowing the dangers and the painful effects of the reassignment surgery, and knowing the amount of time and money it takes to complete her transformation, why would she still go through with it? Perhaps it is because there is an unyielding desire that can emulate your desire to eat pussy and my desire to suck dick (or something to that effect.) Maybe it is her identity.
And in line with this issue, we should also ask if there is a provision in the beauty pageant which explicitly states that it is open not to females but to those who are born anatomically female.
Personally, I do not see it as an insult to women that one person born a man would be willing to go through so much just to be a woman. I do not think that she is belittling the female gender by telling you that it can be achieved through science because I wouldn’t be surprised if her mindset, which is most likely something that has not been tampered by science, is what shapes her identity. This seems to be a simple case of a person trying to find happiness.
Belize
@ShaunoftheDead: Oh honey…
(*tosses bouquet of flowers at you)
You make me feel glad I’m alive.
pixipie
@ShaunoftheDead: This is off-point, but how exactly did vitiligo straighten MJ’s hair and alter his bone structure? He just surrounded himself with people who could support and explain away his excuses. I was trying to explain the difference between altering one’s physical attributes based on external social pressures and internal turmoil. Maybe bringing MJ into the mix was a mistake.
Lisa C
@Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi): she is a female ur just jealous cuz u would never ever be able to pull a hot girl like that or if ur female ur mad she is way hotter then u
kiki
I always think to myself- read the article, do not read the comments; they will only make you angry.
I am a straight woman. I support my LGBT brothers and sisters, and will fight with you, and for you. I want equality for ALL people. I understand how hard being transgendered is because I have the ability to put myself in another person’s shoes. I will never EVER say you are wrong for being gay, or you are odd for being Bi, or that bisexuality doesn’t exist- it does. I will never ever, ever, ever say or think that it is not possible or that it is weird or horrible to be trapped in the body of a gender you don’t identify with. What I think is horrible is that this community of people cannot come together and support ALL equalities for ALL people. There is no doubt about it- being LGBT is hard. Being Trans is probably the hardest. What happens when you come out and your family shuns you; but comes around and changes their ideas and opens their minds? You rebuild the relationship. What happens when you are Trans, and you don’t have support or understanding? Have been abused and discarded? Have identity issues? Are shunned by your family/friends/ communities? What is left? Your dreams; your goals; and the want to build a better life for those that are like you- people. Trans nothing, gay nothing, lesbian nothing, bi nothing, straight nothing- we are all people. We hurt the same, bleed the same, and we breathe the same.
I CANNOT believe that more people are not willing to help and accept transgendered persons, the way they are easily able to accept and welcome diversity of love and friendship with LGB community members. Does that not make you sad and ashamed?
What if this was you? What if you knew with every fibre of your being that you were a man trapped in a woman’s body, or vice versa- knew from the time you were a small child…What if you had no one to turn to because no one understood WHO YOU WERE AS A PERSON? That is not right. I stand with ALL my brothers and sisters in every community. I want to believe that people have the ability to open their minds and be compassionate and understanding of others. I read these comments, and I’m not so sure. Even if Jenna is not able to compete- she is helping to open doors for the Trans community. TRANS INCLUSION IS IMPORTANT- JUST AS IMPORTANT AS EQUAL TREATMENT FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS. TRANS INCLUSION IS A PART OF EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL PEOPLE. Get with it. Get over yourselves.
I agree that those that are trying to defend themselves and their brothers and sisters with hateful comments being shoved back- you are not helping the cause. You cannot unite and promote understanding, without first extending the compassion and understanding you want to receive.
“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD” – Ghandi.
I’m not a mushy person. I’m usually cynical as all hell. BUT- I truly believe that if we are to achieve the goals of equal rights and treatment for all people, we need to act with compassion, understanding, kindness, care, and love for one another. We cannot fight the good fight without uniting as one.
kiki
My English is poor at night- That was a quote from Gandhi. <3 to you all. Goodnight.
Will
Oh wow, this is all kinds of messed up. Not just the transphobia but all of you people spouting evidence as if you actually know something of use.
Before any of you transphobic people who act like you understand Biology, Psychology or even basic Law continue on, let’s gets some facts straight.
Let’s go for the law parts first. Yes, as a private pageant, they can enforce their own rules. That’s very true. HOWEVER.
A) Unless they do a hormone and chromosome test on every female competitor in that competition, they have discriminated against this woman unfairly.
B) Unless they specifically state the definition of ‘born a woman’ within their rules to mean the pertaining of an XX chromosome, they have discriminated against this woman unfairly.
C) Unless they check every women for this definition, they have discriminated against this woman unfairly.
So, unless those two things have occurred, they have SPECIFICALLY chosen to zero in on a transgender individual. They are not upholding their idea of a ‘woman born a woman’ they are upholding their idea of not feeling comfortable with someone who had a male body at one point. And I would absolutely love to see them knock out other women from the running if they were born with XXY or XXX. XXX is obscenely common and I would laugh if they actually tested their competitors.
So, unless they have done all of these things, they have unfairly discriminated against someone. Congratulations, if you know anything about law, if they want to enforce a rule in any private setting, they have to enforce it, not just single out specific individuals. Cheers.
Now on for the Biological and Psychological aspect (as well as some more law).
1) Gender Identity Disorder is real. For all of you who are calling this person who is legally a woman a man? You should just shut up right now. I don’t know if it’s the fact that you feel like she’s too pretty or you just feel inadequate or it bothers you or anything. I just know that you are being hateful for no reason. It’s a legal, medical and biological thing. So, the person who brought up the entire “People of color being born that way?” Well guess what. Medical, biological and scientific research states pretty clearly.
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ARE BORN THAT WAY TOO.
2) People who go through surgery, in quite a few places, can legally have their sex changed. As in, legally, they are to be treated as the sex they are now. Meaning that in a pageant for WOMEN they can participate because they are legally a WOMAN. This is linked with the fact that GID is REAL. It is an actual medical condition that countries, psychologists and biologists accept.
3) Sex chromosomes are pretty much meaningless. Many women are born each day with XXX which makes them, legally, not a woman by your definition. Well guess what? They go throughout their lives never knowing. Many men are born XYY. They go throughout their daily lives happy as a clam. Sex chromosomes are interesting in how they change our biology, but to say that they are everything to our identity is stupid.
4) Genitalia / Reproductive organs or lack thereof is NOT an argument against someone’s sex. People are born without them and are biologically and legally given a sex even if they were born with them or without them. So, you can’t use the organ argument, it’s like holding up a match flame to a hurricane.
So, given that :
A) Every medical professional worth their degree will agree that GID is a real thing. Any who actively deny it or work against it are not following the Hippocratic oath.
B) Most countries that allow the surgery LEGALLY allow the person to live as the opposite sex. Which means they have the legal rights.
C) Sex chromosomes aren’t nearly as important as people think.
D) Genitalia AREN’T important at all.
The only reasons that you could have against this lady is that you have some deep set transphobic hatred. You are as petty and narrow minded as the homophobic people who try, day after day, to do the exact same thing to you.
Congratulations, you have proven the one constant in the universe.
People can be dicks. No matter how much they go through, no matter how much hate they see or are exposed to, a good percentage will take any chance they can to stomp on a minority just so they can feel better about themselves.
So get over yourselves. You are hateful, fear mongering people who are no better than those that you hate yourself. You are the disgusting sewer of society, living off of the idea that you are being discriminated against and rolling around in the pity and the wonderful self righteous action of others but actively discriminating against others without even thinking about it.
She, on the other hand, is a beautiful woman who is just trying to live her life and trying to be accepted for what she really is, a beautiful woman.
You don’t even begin to compare to her at this point.
Anna
I dont know whats worse, people who are ignorant and dont know any better or people who wave Bibles to get their point across! What if she was born with a penis and female internal parts? God meant her to be both? No, it was just something that happened. God cant control everything that happens when babies are formed! I think hes a tad busy. So get your prejudiced opinions out of the dark ages and climb down off the pedestal. God meant for us to be different. You would know that if you werent beating so hard on that Bible, he teaches love and acceptance. Remember the lepers? Let HER participate! They are just afraid shes gonna win!
Lisa C
@nugoyxi: i am a woman and im not insulted i infact have 2 trans male to female friends and they r more women then most women and they r like my sisters not my brothers
AnieLin
Ok. Here’s my stance on this subject, but first, let me address my opinion of the MJ debate. I have a long-time friend who was born with Vitiligo. He’s had it since a young age. Younger than when MJ started wearing his glitter-glove. My friend has not had his Vitiligo leave his arms, in fact, it hasn’t reached his elbows yet. Michael Jackson would have had an easier time of just putting make-up on his affected area… Though most black people are comfortable in their own skin, I feel that MJ wanted to be white, since Vitiligo doesn’t spread that rapidly in such short of time that he would need to bleach his skin…. That being said, I now move onto the true matter at hand.
Fact One. Jenna would turn on any straight man by her looks.
Fact Two. She would also turn on any lesbian woman that saw her.
Fact Three. No Straight woman or gay man would be turned on by her. Regardless of her being born with a penis, she looks like a woman.
Fact Four. If in her mind, she is female, and as she says so, at the age of 4 realized she was in fact female, (meaning she realized at 4 that she was born female with a penis)she did not actually lie on her application. She was born female, but in her mind, the doctors and her mother’s womb made a mistake. That does not make her a liar, that makes her opinionated to believe otherwise.
I, like Kiki, am a straight female who feels equality for ALL means EQUALITY FOR ALL. Just because a person was born one gender does not require them to live in that gender. For anyone who says otherwise, or that they are allowed to live as the gender they choose but aren’t allowed to use the facilities assigned to said gender, that makes people turn heads. If you see a man in a dress walk into a men’s room, you would turn your head and gawk at him. If you see a woman dressed as a man walk into a woman’s room, you probably would take a double-take, but let it slide. Now. If you see a slightly feminine looking man walk into a men’s room, You would probably just think he’s a “girly gay”. And if you see Jenna walking into a woman’s room, you wouldn’t look twice at her at all…. at least not until this pageant situation became news. To say that you would feel offended to see a trans-gender person walk into the bathroom of THEIR gender of identification is wrong, partly because if that same person walked into the bathroom of YOUR perception of their gender, the people who use that bathroom would either in case of females, be offended, or in the case of males, thinking they’d have a chance at a “good time”. Tell me, if you didn’t know Jenna was born with a penis, how would you have treated her? She now has a vagina, and those breasts are at least a little bit naturally grown thanks to her hormone treatments… though my opinion is at least a little enhancement….
Jessica
She should have told the truth.
RMD
@Adrian: I’m FTM, I’m Canadian and I’m under the age of 27. Can I compete? No? Didn’t think so.
Whisper
Lot of what-I-reckon here. Who needs medical qualifications when we have what-I-reckon?
JaiidenLush
wtf im enraged by the level of hatred and ignorance the world carries… being a transsexual as well I feel for her .. how would you feel if everything you loved was ripped away from you all cuz your you… just cuz she had a penis dont make her any less a woman.. pick up an anatomy book and youll notice that the penis and vagina are almost exactly the same one just fell out.. tuck it back in and omg a vagina!!!!! I reallllly hope the world ends this year so humanitys high levels of ignorance are destroyed.. yall dont get the fact that being transgender your mentally that gender you tend to forget that you were even born different because its engraved that she is a woman … is all she did was fix what any “normal” person would fix if they felt it didnt belong or to upgrade or whatever .. I have a penis and an italian beard… does that make me a man no im not a man not a fag not a cross dresser im a woman.. there was the bearded lady, and hermaphodites so absolutely nothing can 100 be classified to distinguish man and woman!
Just being real
This is NOT transphobia. The contest is for biological women or what Trans people call Cisgender women. It’s not a contest for TG/TS women and this woman had entered into a beauty contest before in Thailand for TS/TG women where biological women or cisgendered women aren’t allowed to compete.
Hyhybt
This may get me in trouble… but I don’t think she belongs in the contest either. Not because of the trans thing; that’s nobody’s business, and a beauty pageant is, by definition, about *looks.*
But that’s the thing. While she is indeed beautiful, unless there’s something wrong with the picture, she has odd-looking legs. Nothing wrong with that; it’s just that it’s so unlikely there are no other contestants with better ones.
xamthor
@Clockwork: their rules are vague and have plenty of leeway for Jenna to participate. Whereas according to Canadian Citizenship she is legally a woman and was well in her right to compete.
xamthor
@Lumi Bast (@nugoyxi): and whether you want to admit it or not you are embarrassingly ignorant of gender, gender dysphoria and trans issues. Read a book or two. I’d hate to think you are out there representing any of the LGBTQ community.
Adrian
@RMD: if you’re interested in competing why not apply and see if you are selected. are you comfortable paraiding on stage in a bikini, showing your boobs and ass infront of thousands of people? you were born “female” and meet the age requierement. hey, go for it, fill out their application. they can’t stop you from applying.
AnieLin
@Hyhybt: There is nothing wrong with her legs, that’s just how they look when one knee is bent and the other is still straight. Google her images, you’ll see. And even if there was something wrong with her legs, it’s the overall beauty, as well as the inner beauty that is judged. Why else would Miss Universe pageants ask what their THOUGHTS are on certain subjects? Their beauty of mind as well as looks and talent is what wins the tiara. And for the fact that it is “Miss Universe” makes this competition leave from “private” contest to “international debate”. If it was a local beauty pageant, I would see why she might just take her losses and turn away. But this is to determine CANADA’S top beauty to compete in the international television broadcast competition. If she doesn’t make Miss Canada, that should be up to the judges, not up to whether she was physically born female. I honestly don’t think she will win top place, but she’s definitely a good piece of competition. I say let the judges decide if she’s beautiful enough to win.
jonjon
Of course I think it’s wrong to discriminate against transgenders based on some arbitrary “must be born female” rule that they obviously made up last minute since that rules isn’t technically on the books. And I think it’s ridiculous that since everyone else has had some kind of cosmetic surgery anyway, she isn’t allowed to enter because she had it on her genitals.
However, I think it’s extra ridiculous that we’re even defending or supporting beauty pageants in the first place. They’re harmful, they encourage people to conform to gender stereotypes (what an “ideal” woman “should” look like), they encourage people to be shallow and focussed on looks, etc. I don’t think a true LGBT movement should support something like this.
Bianca Lynne
I’m trying to figure out the difference between Queerty comments on trans stories and World Net Daily comments on trans stories. Anyone care to show me?
Bianca Lynne
@jonjon: I agree with you in general. However, lets not forget the various gay male “beauty” pageants. I mean earlier this week Queerty covered the Hookies escort awards.
Alex Sarmiento
Well, if the Miss Universe Organization (of which Miss Universe Canada is the Canadian franchise) says that they only allow “natural born females”, and the Canadian contract never explicitly said likewise, then Jenna has a case. The onus falls on the organizers. If they wanted to avoid any controversy, they should have laid out the qualifications exactly, as to avoid any gray areas, so Jenna wouldn’t have resorted to legal action. Besides, if Jenna does get to compete and ends up winning the contest, and if she ends up winning or placing at Miss Universe, then it can’t be a bad thing in and of itself. Canada hasn’t even placed at Miss Universe since 2006.
I realize that Miss Universe is a private organization and can technically do what it wants, but limiting the contest to 18-27 cisgender women who’ve never been married and never had children seems too restrictive. I’m surprised that they don’t have a clause saying that you have to be a virgin, either. It’s one thing to have an “ideal” (to quote Miss America), but in this day and age, the “ideal” does not correspond with the reality of young women in the world today. And there are so many beautiful and smart women in the world who would make great Miss Universes (whatever you think of the pageant and the Donald), but couldn’t because they’re transgendered or they made the mistake of getting married too young or they were raped and got pregnant.
Geri
@nugoyxi: I think she probably has transwoman DNA. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7689007.stm
Mikita
I agree with post #10….
If it was possible for her to make her DNA show female …then I say let her stay :))))
A few years back…there was this “Female” that was out running everyone in the woman’s division. People started to take notice…because when she ran, the other runners looked like they were running in slow motion.They did a DNA test …SURPRISE!!!!! … She was a he…LMAO .
I am sure none of you “gender switcher supports” weren’t there to support this person when they were disqualified !!!
The rules say FEMALE !!! It’s that simple… Nothing swinging or removed!!! I guess next you will want to enter your cat in a dog show! Go ahead…I am sure there is a few Pitbulls that would not mind :)))) LMAO
Mikita
@Just being real:
Great point !!! Case close..
Geri
The thing is if Jenna Talackova hadn’t been a contestant in Tiffany’s “Miss International Queen” beauty pageant in 2010 she would probably have got away with it.
Miss International Queen’s entry rule #1
“Must born male, be a transvestites or transsexual (pre and post-op, proof of natural gender may be requested in form of birth certificate or doctor’s genetic verification)”
http://www.missinternationalqueen.com/home.htm
If a transwoman were to be knowingly accepted as a contestant by Miss Universe then surely in all fairness a cisgender woman should be allowed to enter Miss International Queen and other beauty contests for transwomen?
Actually, I don’t really see why not because these things are all about “looks”.
Bianca Lynne
@Mikita: I believe you are referencing a case on an intersex athlete who was born and assigned female at birth. It was only after extensive testing that it was discovered that she had any sort of birth condition. And yes, actually many trans people were there to support her when the decision was made.
That’s the pisser about DNA – it isn’t always cut and dry. Perhaps you can stop acting like you know anything about genetics, biology, or the law.
“I guess next you will want to enter your cat in a dog show!” Yes, just like once gays can be married, people will want to marry their dogs… right?
Bianca Lynne
@Will: +1,000 – loved this reply.
kiki
@wayne
If you are such a progressive straight person, you wouldn’t call her “the tranny” or “dude”. You must have realized that you were sounding like a dick, when you conveniently changed your tune to “the transgendered girl”. You may not think this is “grounds to cause a revolution over”, however, many people whole-heartedly disagree with you- including myself. Trans-inclusion is a big deal. Just as much as gay rights, or equality for women.
Maybe the trans specific pageants should allow straight women entry. However, what “natural born woman” is going to enter a pageant that isn’t going to get her on T.V?