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GLAAD announced today that the Miss Universe Organization is close to finalizing an official policy change that will allow women who are transgender to participate in its beauty competitions. It follows more than two weeks of discussions. The new rules still have to be approved by Donald Trump and NBC, who co-own the beauty contest. But let’s face it: this could make ratings soar. Final language on the changed rules is expected in the next few weeks as pageant season begins internationally for the competition. The announcement comes 
less than a week after Jenna Talackova, a 23-year old Canadian who had a sex change operation four years ago, initially had been disqualified from the 61st Miss Universe Canada pageant after organizers learned that she had once been a he. Talackova’s public pleadings to Trump as well as media attention caused GLAAD to contact the the Miss Universe Organization on March 24th after the news broke. GLAAD called on the Miss Universe Organization to review Talackova’s case, as well as open the competition to transgender women. “For more than two weeks, the Miss Universe Organization and Mr. Trump made it clear to GLAAD that they were open to making a policy change to include women who are transgender,” said GLAAD spokesperson Herndon Graddick. “We appreciate that he and his team responded swiftly and appropriately. The Miss Universe Organization today follows institutions that have taken a stand against discrimination of transgender women including the Olympics, NCAA, the Girl Scouts of America and The CW’s America’s Next Top Model.” Added Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization: “We have a long history of supporting equality for all women, and this was something we took very seriously.” It now looks as if Talackova will compete this May because Trump recently wished her “the best of luck in her quest for the crown”.
Miss Universe 2013 About To Transgender?
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Please say it isn’t so. This is just repulsive.
LOL. The entire ‘concept’ of Beauty Pageant is sooooo outdated. Wake up people, it’s 2012 and still, these showcases linger. What’s next, little boys vs. little girls children pageants? Oops… better not give anyone an idea to make more $$ off stupidity – that’s if that doesn’t already exist. LOL.
she’s so hot but…..
Yeah, way hot, but that voice gives her away. Yeesh.
That’s a crock. Transgendered females are obviously surgically created/enhanced. This is not natural beauty, regardless of one’s position on the moral issues. It is MAN-u-factured and artificial beauty. Where’s the beauty in a beauty contest if one can have a bunch of surgery to create the ideal? Talk about setting a standard in society that is unachievable!!
Do you really think there are contestants who are NOT ‘surgically enhanced/altered’ in beauty pageants? You have a right to feel however you feel, but don’t hide behind this particular argument – because it’s idiotic.
You think that the other contestants aren’t also surgically enhanced??? PUH-LEEZ….
Oh, yes, you’re totally right. Because no pageant contestant has ever received surgical enhancement…
Great point, it’s ridiculous what the guys at the top will do to boost ratings, and for what? To deposit another drop in their vast seas of moo-la? These people have proven they have no backbone and I for one will not be tuning in.
And do you think all the other girls haven’t been enhanced? LOL, there is no natural beauty in beauty contests.
Thank you so much, Offended! I was wondering how I could explain the correlation between bigotry and stupidity and here you’ve given an excellent example.
“Surgical Enhancements” is your argument? Really? Okay, I suggest you crawl out from under the rock you obviously live under and find me one Miss Universe contestant that hasn’t had surgical enhancements.
And I’M offended that you would use quasi-feminist reasoning in this pathetic attempt to promote your own bigotry and hate.
On second thought, stay under the rock.
Yet you have no objection to Trump’s hair.
Next up, android beauty contestants compete for Miss Virtual Universe title.
She looks like Ivanka.
Looks like Ivanka, comments Joe? Hmmm… win, win? Planned? Hmmm. Love these ‘comments’, LOL.
Although some of the Asian or Latin transsexuals are hot as hell I’m against this idea.
@Zach – What is repulsive to you? Transgendered people participating in a beauty pageant or just transgendered people? Why do I get the feeling it’s the latter.
@Offended – Umm, aren’t most of these contestants obviously surgically created/enhanced? Between boob jobs, botox, and other enhancements, I’m not sure it’s fair to call these other women “natural.”
“Where’s the beauty in a beauty contest if one can have a bunch of surgery to create the ideal?” I couldn’t agree more. But now the playing field is fair for all.
And today in the comments: transphobia! How exciting. And original.
This change is a good and welcome move, and perhaps it will be a slight step towards further acceptance of transpeople (or at least transwomen) in the media. Now granted, folks who have spent large portions of their lives considering where they fall on a gender spectrum are perhaps the least likely to watch or participate in something like Miss Universe considering its commodification of women and their bodies, but transgender folks have just as broad and various backgrounds as everyone else.
Also the title makes no grammatical sense. “Transgender” is not a verb. If you really want to throw in some LGBT lingo, you could say the Miss Universe pageant is “transitioning”? Kitschy, but actually it’d be cool if Deadline knew that word.
It’s a trap!
This is most probably just a drop in the bucket for those truly qualified to win Miss UNIVERSE. Imagine the unknown contestants out there.
This is bonkers and not fair to women who bust their *sses to compete. Why can’t this dude compete in a Transgender competition??
Can’t wait to see how the PC crowd reacts when one of their transgendered poster children destroys the field in the women’s 1500 at the next Olympics. Suddenly, their agenda won’t seem so cute and fair to biologically born women.
Seeing how they were fine with a bunch of chinese gymnasts lying about their age in the last one, I don’t think it’s even going to register.
Totally different argument, those chinese gymnasts were still born as REAL GIRLS.
The best of both worlds. I like it.
There goes one last bastion of pureness…just sad.
Plenty of miss universe contestants and winners have had tons of plastic surgery before the peagant. The only surgery this girl has had that the others haven’t is get a vagina. Everything else she’s had done has been normal practice for lots of top contestants.
As a Venezuelan, i can’t even begin to judge somebody who’s had surgery and then went to Miss Universe. I believe we’re the biggest winners in the competition and probably the biggest country when it comes to runner ups and top 5 placements too, each of those girls has had plenty of surgery before going to Miss Universe, even before going to Miss Venezuela, and lots of other countries have picked up on the trend that started decades ago.
She may have started out as a man, but none of our girls started out as they ended up either. “NATURAL” beauty? Please…
venezuela enhanced their body for beauty and its good and i like it but they are not changing there gender!
As a Canadian, items like this in the American news crack me up. I think it’s funny that we can shock you about anything. We legalized gay marriage. We have a transgendered person in a beauty pagenat. And … what else… oh yea! Two weeks ago we made brothels legal. From a distance we must seem pretty freaky. The truth is, IMHO, these changes aren’t visible here. We don’t like dramatic change, and when things like this happen, we have some sort of British reserve about it. Something like: “That’s fine, dear. Just remember you’re not entitled to make a scene.” Public appearances must stay exactly the same. This is Canada, after all.
Don’t flatter yourself. We’re more freaked out about the whole Milk-in-a-bag thing than anything you mentioned.
No Coffee Crisp for you!
Love your comment, NotQuiteRight. LOL. Although milk in a bag is pretty weird.
And natural born women dont have any cosmetic surgery? Puhlease………
This is ridiculous. Transgenders have their own pageant. This is for real females. If this happens, the ratings in the areas between NYC and LA will be very low. I’m a straight guy. I want real females in the contest. Otherwise, I won’t watch it.
Pleeeeaase. Genetic females are surgically created/enhanced these days too. It’s a brave & creative move.
Hey, as long as she’s post-op, who cares?
I will say that if they let this pass, then I don’t ever want to hear anyone bitch about boob jobs etc on the pageant circuit.
Who cares? As if Miss Universe matters to anyone any more. Although this will be interesting, how will countries like India and China react when the Canadian competing against their beauties is actually a man.
India has a strong history of a third gender, which is basically trans, so they won’t care.
You shouldn’t assume western Ahrahamic religious beliefs for the rest of the world.
I don’t care about this as all pagaents are about artifice anyway.
What I worry about are sports. All of this is remknding me of the days of World Class sporting events like the Olympics where athletes from the iron curtain, especially East Germany were cheating by injecting all sorts of hormones in their athletes to look masculine of feminine. I am also reminded of Dr. Rene richards who was a transgendered pro tennis player. The Supreme court overuled a ban from the Tennis association on the definition of woman and let her play in the Ladies division. She later went on to be Martina Navratilova’s coach for a while. How is this gonna work in with the list of banned substances, hormones included, getting longer and longer in sports? Athletes are on freaking trial because of steroid use. And that’ssnothing compared to what ‘s used to trangender yourself and to keep it that way. The question is in all cases, is it fair?
My objection isn’t to surgically enhanced or altered contestants. It has been a pretty standard practice for quite some time. I do, however, object to the participation of those who need estrogen infusions just to maintain even the slightest resemblance to a woman. A boob job is one thing, but hormonal changes are more fundamental.
This will be the end of the Miss Universe pageant if this happens. Someone will either start a new pageant and it will die a merciful death as a colossal joke.
I’m for this as long as it is POST-OP Trangender – no pre-ops who still have their boy parts! IF they want to be consitered FEMALE then they should be female all the way!
The thought of a Transgender Miss Universe who still has boy-parts just isn’t right.