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PUBLIC OPINION > It's OK for Beauty Pageant to Disqualify Transgendered Contestant

SodaHead Celebs 2012/03/27 21:00:00
The Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant found itself in a strange situation when the organization discovered that Jenna Talackova, one of 65 finalists, was not born a woman. The 23-year-old Vancouver native was disqualified because she did not "meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form." Officials say the rules require that contestants be "naturally born females," but Talackova argues that she has considered herself a woman since the age of four and has undergone reassignment surgery. Good Morning America asked the public if Miss Universe Canada officials were discriminating when they disqualified her.

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Unfortunately for Talackova, the public is not on her side. However, in this case it's especially important that we pin down the reason behind the public's decision, as this is a controversial issue despite an apparent consensus. The key factor in ruling the disqualification "fair" was not the public's stance on the LGBT community, or even the public's stance on what should be allowed in such a pageant -- though both obviously influenced some voters. The deciding factor was the rule book.

We couldn't find a digital copy of the Miss Universe Canada requirements, but one official did say that the rules specifically require that each contestant be a "naturally born female." Since "female" denotes chromosomal makeup, there's really no way Talackova can evade it. Perhaps she can present an argument against the rule book for future pageants, but this year she's out of luck.

Teens Support Talackova

Even though the overall results suggest a consensus, there was little agreement in the demographics. Age, for instance, had an enormous correlation. Teens were inversely adamant about allowing Talackova to participate in the pageant, while some older age groups were nearly unanimous.

Liberals Relatively Reserved

The political spectrum is a good illustration of why the results turned out so heavily against Talackova. Not surprisingly, liberals were far more likely than conservatives to call the ruling discriminatory, but they were not nearly as decided as conservatives. While an overwhelming 92% of conservatives voted "fair," liberals were still very close to a split decision, presumably because of the rule-book argument.

Males Make a Statement

Gender mirrored the political spectrum in that men showed a strong opinion and women were relatively undecided, but the reasoning here is a little less obvious. We suspect the primary factor here is that men don't want to accidentally oggle someone who used to be a man. Even for men who are reasonably progressive, the idea might seem a bit awkward.

If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit Good Morning America's poll about Jenna Talackova. We'd love to hear from you!
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Top Opinion

  • Sterling 2012/03/27 22:03:52
    Sterling
    +24
    I think the reason teens are for it is they don't really understand what goes into a sex change. You can't reproduce female organs, nor can you reproduce the male organs. You can make someone LOOK like they have female organs but A) they aren't functional, never could be and B) they will still have a Y chromosome.

    "well what about women born infertile?" Do you really want to make the comparison between a man who cut off his junk and flipped his penis inside out to a woman who was born with female parts but is infertile?

    This is why you had all the people in the comment section asking for us to "define male and female" as though it hasn't already been defined.

    If I took a dog, chopped off it's legs and shaved it, cut its tongue to make it forked and did plastic surgery to make it look like a snake, would it be a snake or a dog?

    There are things you just can't change.

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Opinions

  • StanKerr 2012/03/27 21:26:53
    StanKerr
    +2
    A private contest is free to establish its own rules (I think), though on its face it seems odd that a 'beauty' contest, which is about appearance and personal conduct and not about genitalia, would care. Still, some think 'female' means 'born female', not 'behaving like a female', and there's no budging them. Hard to make an XY into a YY!
  • kellendunk 2012/03/27 21:25:59
    kellendunk
    +6
    I have no issues with oggling a transgendered woman. Jenna is beautiful (although a bit thin for my taste)
  • Mikey Pooh 2012/03/27 21:22:21
    Mikey Pooh
    +4
    If the contest clearly states they must be born a women then yes.. if not, then they were wrong for it.
  • kellendunk Mikey Pooh 2012/03/27 21:26:48
    kellendunk
    +6
    The question asks if it's fair or discriminatory. Seems like a discriminatory rule to me.
  • Mikey Pooh kellendunk 2012/03/27 21:36:41
    Mikey Pooh
    +2
    It is discriminatory and one that needs to change but rules are rules until they are changed. I am a guy and cannot work out at the gym called Curves for Women. That's discrimination, no doubt BUT rules are rules so I haven't tried to join.
  • kellendunk Mikey Pooh 2012/03/27 21:53:34 (edited)
    kellendunk
    +2
    So it is both fair AND discriminatory?
    Does curves disallow transgendered women? Do they check your birth certificate? Disallowing men and disallowing people who are now women are not the same thing.
  • Mikey Pooh kellendunk 2012/03/27 22:03:43
    Mikey Pooh
    +2
    I didn't say it was the same thing. I am saying that disallowing anyone for who they are, were, or will be is discriminating. Man, relax. I agree with you on how it SHOULD be but if the rules state this now then we live by them as we try to change them.

    I was using Curves for Women as an example and though my argument is apples to apples its more Granny Smith to Red Delicious apples...
  • Mikey Pooh kellendunk 2012/03/27 22:04:57
    Mikey Pooh
    +1
    but for the record... The issue isn't identical but it is similar.

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