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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.

jenna talackova sodahead

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

  • runningintriangles 2012/03/28 01:31:23
  • Pablo 2012/03/28 01:16:00
    Pablo
    What other category is there other than man or woman ? And it seems this was a female contest. Either you be a man or a woman..........ain't no third sex, or a fourth, or a fifth.....
    Pablo
  • quirkyandloving it 2012/03/28 01:03:56
    quirkyandloving it
    Does anyone else find it strange that the standard for feminine beauty in the West is often androgynous women? This pageant really points out that feminine features are not highly valued anymore.
  • Nomad58 quirkya... 2012/03/28 07:19:19 (edited)
    Nomad58
    Yes, very strange. In fact, I think most Western men find it weird and annoying that woman are always going on about being so damn skinny.
    Sharp hip bones are a royal pain ;~)

    Jane
  • Hales 2012/03/28 01:00:45
    Hales
    +4
    I find it funny how it's always the transgendered women who turns out to be the most beautiful one in the room. So what if she was once literally flat-chested? It's HER life, dammit.
  • kent Hales 2012/03/28 04:21:41
    kent
    +1
    I think you are confusing glamour and beauty...beauty is far more than what a body can be sculpted into, and goes far deeper than looks.
  • Hales kent 2012/03/30 01:44:09
    Hales
    +1
    Now that you mentioned it, I wish I had put that in sooner.....
  • EastIndianFemme 2012/03/28 00:58:58
    EastIndianFemme
    +1
    If they are going to have a beauty pageant, put them in specific categories like: Miss America (it should be all real womyn); Mr. Universe (all real straight boys?), Drag Queen/King (visa versa?), and now Transgendered (umm, I guess so??)
  • Sig Sauer P220 2012/03/28 00:50:13
    Sig Sauer P220
    Gotta drawn the line some where ...
  • Ves~Sailor Soldier of PHAET 2012/03/27 23:59:28 (edited)
  • MOJ Ves~Sai... 2012/03/28 07:23:02
    MOJ
    "I am a woman" Yes and it is men having the problem. It also explains why you believe (s)he is "hot" while we don't

    It doesn't matter how hot a man is, he will remain a man and every other man will not want to go 20 feet near him/her.
  • David MOJ 2012/04/05 22:41:55
    David
    Wait, so you're saying this natural born girl...

    wait natural born girl

    ...is MORE pretty then...

    wait natural born girl pretty

    this girl who was born a man???

    I mean I'm not saying one of them is more pretty but they both look really hot!! You can't deny it either!!
  • MOJ David 2012/04/07 06:33:33
    MOJ
    It takes more than artificial woman parts to make a girl hot. I can't really put this into words but once a man, always a man. The hotness does not matter, once you tell a man that someone else was once a man but now turned into a woman, then all attraction just disappears.
  • David MOJ 2012/04/07 07:40:21
    David
    Why is that you suddenly lose attraction to a transsexual once you know? I'm wondering because then it only has to do with how your perception is of them. And in that, you're only afraid of how *others* will perceive you (that you're gay, or you like a transsexual).

    Essentially you're saying if you didn't know they were transsexual you would find them attractive. Which means you could have sex with one (even be married with one) and not even know it. The only way you'd know is if they told you (they could just use the excuse they are infertile when babies aren't produced). And if they did tell you, you'd suddenly not like them and disregard the relationship you had with them simply because of...what? I want to know. Because if you did like them before, why would you throw everything away just because they don't have a real vagina. You couldn't even tell the difference before. Are you afraid of being labeled gay or of how other people will perceive you? Or are you afraid of how *you* would perceive you? It sounds more about how the person makes you look.

    Admitting you like a transsexual may lower your status in society and among your friends/family, so whether you find the transsexual attractive or not, you get turned of by that idea (not them). From my view I feel like the *ide...


    Why is that you suddenly lose attraction to a transsexual once you know? I'm wondering because then it only has to do with how your perception is of them. And in that, you're only afraid of how *others* will perceive you (that you're gay, or you like a transsexual).

    Essentially you're saying if you didn't know they were transsexual you would find them attractive. Which means you could have sex with one (even be married with one) and not even know it. The only way you'd know is if they told you (they could just use the excuse they are infertile when babies aren't produced). And if they did tell you, you'd suddenly not like them and disregard the relationship you had with them simply because of...what? I want to know. Because if you did like them before, why would you throw everything away just because they don't have a real vagina. You couldn't even tell the difference before. Are you afraid of being labeled gay or of how other people will perceive you? Or are you afraid of how *you* would perceive you? It sounds more about how the person makes you look.

    Admitting you like a transsexual may lower your status in society and among your friends/family, so whether you find the transsexual attractive or not, you get turned of by that idea (not them). From my view I feel like the *idea* disgusts you not *them* (otherwise you wouldn't like them in the first place). But that's my opinion. Maybe I'm completely and utterly wrong. So by all means explain to me the issue.

    Another question, does this mean you'd like a female-to-male transsexual? They usually still have vaginas and it seems to be all you care about. ftm
    Yet to me, (s)he's so manly, I don't think you'd be attracted to this at all...
    (more)
  • Melissa... David 2012/11/14 06:19:15
    Melissa Grumelli
    +1
    LoL... that first picture you posted is Kim Petras.... born Tim Petras.... a boy. She had sex change surgery when she was 16. So you kinda lost the point you were trying to make but they're both pretty hot. :P
  • David Melissa... 2013/01/19 22:53:44
    David
    Haha, and the second girl is actually not transexual. I knew this. I switched their pictures to make a point. xD But I never got to make it. But yes, they're both pretty hot but I'm not attracted to either of them because I'm gay lol
  • ❦TigerSound❦ 2012/03/27 23:44:03
    ❦TigerSound❦
    +4
    Ridiculous! Since when getting born with the wrong body your choice, she is a woman! I realize there are some who don't understand or don't like it, but suck it up and feel so lucky if you born the right gender. Ugh, people...
  • ATM 2012/03/27 23:37:58
    ATM
    Didn't just lose your manhood...
  • bert 2012/03/27 23:37:22
    bert
    +1
    Why does everything we do have to be discriminatory?? It has to know the rules, I don't even know what to call this thing... What was she doing anyway that everyone found about her...playing with it or changing in front of this girls and joking about what she has?? Call RuPaul and hangout with that. Was this "transgender" gonna use her thing as a talent?? After all they need to have a talent, right? People need to stop acting like a bunch of babies and just deal with it!!!!><
  • ««zamboni»»Hellsoldier-BN0 2012/03/27 23:30:12
    ««zamboni»»Hellsoldier-BN0
    +2
    Cleared out: Discrimination is always good, until you feel it yourself.
  • ♌βļąƈʞƦơșƐ3033♌ 2012/03/27 23:23:06
    ♌βļąƈʞƦơșƐ3033♌
    +1
    This is completely unfair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • ☠ Live Free Or Die ☠ 2012/03/27 23:04:58
    ☠ Live Free Or Die ☠
    +2
    They don't have to accept this MAN if they don't want to.
  • MyPaperBleedsInk 2012/03/27 22:54:41
    MyPaperBleedsInk
    +3
    They need to better define "naturally born females". Because that could allow transgenders.... now if they said those with XX chromosomes it'd be understandable. Female and Male are determined by social aspects.
  • peaches MyPaper... 2012/03/28 02:06:56
    peaches
    +1
    But there are rare occasions when people have the wrong chromosomes for their sex. It's possible for females to have XY chromosomes, etc. So DNA testing doesn't work 100%.
    Though I do agree with you (:
  • Pixie·Ÿ... MyPaper... 2012/03/28 03:55:49
    Pixie·ŸŸMzAwesome♠ƤĦĂĔŢ♠
    though there are some men with XXY chromosomes...
  • DeborahLakeHelen 2012/03/27 22:51:42
    DeborahLakeHelen
    +4
    The contest is for WOMEN, not MEN who have had themselves surgically ALTERED to fulfill their twisted fantasy of being a woman. Genetically, HE will always be a MALE, even though he had his manhood removed.
  • Moejj 2012/03/27 22:45:25
    Moejj
    +3
    not a woman. a TRANSGENDERED WOMAN. Can a real woman enter a transgendered woman's beauty contest (why would she want to?) Probably not. Take all of the political mumbojumbo BS out. A transgendered woman is NOT a real woman. They are a TRANSGENDERED woman.
  • Deborah... Moejj 2012/03/27 22:54:38
    DeborahLakeHelen
    +4
    I don't think a REAL woman would want to be mixed up in a pageant with a bunch of altered freaks anyway!
  • Inquisi... Deborah... 2012/03/28 03:28:37
    Inquisitve Kat
    +2
    I don't thinka real woman would want to be in this pageant, run by redneck freaks.
  • Deborah... Inquisi... 2012/03/28 14:38:05
    DeborahLakeHelen
    NEWS FLASH: It's a UNIVERSAL Pageant, with REAL women from all over the WORLD. No trangender freaks allowed!
  • Inquisi... Deborah... 2012/03/28 18:37:43
    Inquisitve Kat
    I'm aware it's universal...
  • Deborah... Inquisi... 2012/03/28 18:55:42
    DeborahLakeHelen
    And there are 100's of REAL women who try to make it into that pageant every year.
  • Waiting in the Wings 2012/03/27 22:36:57
    Waiting in the Wings
    +5
    She should be allowed to compete. If the rule books said a contestant couldn't have had cosmetic surgery that's one thing, but that isn't what it says. She's very beautiful, even more so than some women. There is a difference between "gender" and "sex" and it isn't so cut and dry black and white.
  • Moejj Waiting... 2012/03/29 15:01:09
    Moejj
    "she" is *STILL* a man.
  • OneLastWord 2012/03/27 22:24:27
    OneLastWord
    +2
    Yes, WTF, is there nothing sacred anymore?
    Give me a break!
  • Waiting... OneLast... 2012/03/27 22:29:23
    Waiting in the Wings
    +3
    You draw the line at beauty pageants? They are sacred to you?
  • Nichole 2012/03/27 22:20:54 (edited)
    Nichole
    +5
    I still believe that the pageant had every right to disqualify Talackova because genetically he is still male. You can cosmetically make someone look different, but genetically that person is still the same. Male and female are the body's genetic sexes, not genders (which are different).
  • Bocephus 2012/03/27 22:12:43
    Bocephus
    +2
    RuPaul is pist . I know it. ru paul
  • The_Inf... Bocephus 2012/03/27 22:34:30
    The_Infidel_Atheist
    +1
    RuPaul is a transvestite not transgendered. Huge difference.
  • Bocephus The_Inf... 2012/03/27 22:36:55
    Bocephus
    +1
    So you don't think he is pissed? Not even just a little? Hey right.

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