Sunday, March 25, 2012

Trans Beauty Kicked Out of Pageant

This is an interesting twist on an old story. MSNBC has it:
The organizers for Miss Universe Canada yanked a transgender contestant from the pageant, saying that although she may feel like a woman, rules say she must be born one, the Toronto Star reported.

Denis Davila, the national director of the Miss Universe Canada franchise, told the Vancouver Sun that the contestant, Jenna Tacklova, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, wrote on her registration that she was born female. He suspected that she was born male and asked her about it earlier this month. She was dismissed that day.

Davila said that the Miss Universe franchise requires that contestants be “naturally born female,” according to the Sun.

“She feels like a real girl and she is a real girl. She didn’t expect people to question it,” Davila told the Sun. “She was hoping we could put her back in the competition, but the rules are very clear and there’s no way we can go back on it.”

He added: “She was excited about the competition. Just because she can’t compete doesn’t mean we stopped loving her.”

Those rules are not mentioned on the Miss Universe website, which states that contestants must be unmarried and 18 years or older. Miss Universe Canada organizers boot transgender contestant
I am not comfortable with the wording of this article. Jenna Tacklova was born however she was born, if she is female then she was born female. Transgender people do not "change their sex," they change their identity and self-presentation to match the sex they already were. The doctor apparently reported at birth that she was male, but unfortunately you cannot ask a baby what sex they are, you have to go by certain external physical signs, and some small proportion of the time the physical characteristics are ambiguous -- or wrong.

But the interesting thing here is that her transgender nature almost certainly makes it harder rather than easier to win a beauty contest. This story says that she started hormone therapy when she was fourteen, which was probably after puberty and the emergence of physiological characteristics of the male body.

This is kind of opposite to the more familiar story where a transgender woman competes in a sporting event, having grown up with the muscular strength of a man. I am actually somewhat sympathetic with ciswomen who complain in that situation, I don't know what the nondiscriminatory solution is but athletic competitions are separated by sex largely because of differences in male and female physical strength.

In this case, though, Jenna Tacklova (who is obviously a knockout) is competing in what amounts to a femininity competition, where she would seem to have an actual disadvantage. I can't see any reason to keep her out of it, can you?

18 Comments:

Blogger Hazumu Osaragi said...

She's just the latest casualty in the Purity/Defilement wars.

March 26, 2012 11:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

boooorring

March 26, 2012 11:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this really is an extremely dull post

snoooze city

March 28, 2012 5:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

these trans whiners are sickeningly monotonous

that's for sure

March 29, 2012 12:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yet you keep coming back to this very boring, dull, monotonous post making your boring, dull, monotonous comments.

You can't keep your eyes off of her, can you?

March 29, 2012 8:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

keep thinking someone will liven up this pedestrian post with some incisively witty remark but, alas, it seems that TTF has just about petered out

March 29, 2012 9:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh sure. We believe your denial.

Jenna is one beautiful lady.

March 29, 2012 2:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

most TTF posts are pretty tedious

it's probably unfair to single this one out

TTF was born that way

March 30, 2012 1:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You just can't keep your eyes off the pretty trans woman.

March 30, 2012 2:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it is amazing what they can do with Photoshop now

still, the story itself is completely uninteresting

March 30, 2012 4:45 PM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

Anon blathered…

“boooorring

this really is an extremely dull post

snoooze city

these trans whiners are sickeningly monotonous

that's for sure

keep thinking someone will liven up this pedestrian post with some incisively witty remark but, alas, it seems that TTF has just about petered out

blah, blah, blah…”


After watching these come up for the last couple of days, I couldn’t help but think that most people in this modern age (especially those with internet access) would have a hard time being bored.

I mean, considering all the things you can see on the InterTubes, if one is bored for more than 15 seconds, they obviously aren’t trying very hard to amuse themselves. After all, looking at the number of hits for kitten videos on YouTube, people must be spending HOURS amusing themselves with them. If you don’t believe me, start out with the Scottish Fold section of kitty kat kuteness and be forewarned that you may spend days ogling their adorableness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6QWsMYHIEc&feature=relmfu

Since you keep returning to this ostensibly boring site posting even more boring commentary in an attempt to illicit “incisively witty remarks,” I can only conclude that your life must be insidiously even more boring than my own. Granted, I did have the “excitement” this week of driving down to St. Inigoes to help bring up a new radar system for a Navy contractor, and I had to replace my kitchen faucet last weekend, but normally my life isn’t filled with so much fun and gratuitous frivolity. Usually it’s just mowing the lawn, doing laundry, and watching PBS – probably the only thing my tax money goes to where I feel I’m getting a bargain.

To help you out, I’ll let you know what you’re suffering from. It’s the same terrible feeling of loss that the 4th grade bully has when he realizes his victim doesn’t really give a damn about his sophomoric name calling and derogatory taunts any more.

I can’t tell you what will help cure that though; I’ve never been in that position. However, a good start might be finding a new hobby. Perhaps model airplane building, quilting, calligraphy, Sudoku, or crossword puzzles. If you find those lack the “human interaction” element or “witty responses” you crave, try volunteering at a local school, join a garden club, or perhaps try race car driving.

There are a lot of exciting things to do. Go out into the world and play.

Have a nice day,

Cynthia

March 30, 2012 6:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, cinco, you know well I just trying to incite some reaction from the lunatics

I'm actually rarely bored

as a matter of fact, i've always said "if you're bored, you're boring"

but the liberal obsession with imposing the universal enabling of deviance is somewhat tiresome, wouldn't you say?

March 30, 2012 10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jenna Talackova, the Miss Universe Canada contestant who was disqualified last week from competing in the pageant because she is transgender, fired back at the pageant's organizers, including its owner, Donald Trump, at a press conference Tuesday.

First her attorney, Gloria Allred, criticized Trump's handling of the situation.

"Jenna entered this competition and gave the pageant her time, her best efforts and her money," Allred said. "She did not think for one moment that what she might have looked like at birth would be relevant. She did not ask Mr. Trump to prove that he is a naturally-born man, or to see the photos of his birth, to view his anatomy, to prove that he was male. It made no difference to her. Why should it have made a difference to him?"

The pageant's organizers reversed their earlier decision on Monday, and issued a statement announcing that Talackova, 23, would be able to compete. She did not, however, confirm during the press conference whether she would actually be participating.

Rather, Allred said, the organization's actions did not go far enough, and she implied that Talackova is considering suing the pageant.

"Mr. Trump's statement fails to state that the rule that only naturally-born women will be allowed to compete will be eliminated," Allred said. "Otherwise, we are considering all of Jenna's legal options."

Talackova was born male but has identified as female since the age of 4. She began hormone therapy at 14 and underwent gender reassignment surgery at age 19.

Describing herself as "overwhelmed" by the support she received in the wake of her removal from the pageant, Talackova spoke about the chain of events after Allred's statement Tuesday.

"When I was selected as a finalist, I was thrilled. I had always dreamed of being in the Miss Universe competition, and having an opportunity to represent my country, Canada," she said, adding that she felt "devastated" after being told by pageant officials she could not compete because she was not "naturally born" a woman. "The reason that they gave was unjust."

"I have never asked for any special consideration. I only wanted to compete," Talackova continued. "I wish Mr. Trump would just say, in plain words, whether or not I will be allowed to compete and, if I win, whether I will be allowed to represent Canada in the Miss Universe competition."

April 03, 2012 9:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what a boring comment. i wonder if anyone nodded off at the press conference

April 04, 2012 6:08 AM  
Blogger Maia Dobson said...

Because of Jenna, Donald Trump has now allowed transgenders to join the prestigious contest. I think it's totally unfair because they have their whole body and sexuality altered. The real women only had minor treatments say for example they have had vein therapy or Botox, but that's just all about it. Transgenders should have their own contest.

May 21, 2012 9:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Because of Jenna, Donald Trump has now allowed...."

You think Donald Trump let Jenna Talackova make that decision for him?

You're fired!

Back in March, the Miss Universe Canada pageant disqualified Jenna Talackova from competing. The reason? Pageant organizers claimed that only “naturally born” females were allowed to compete, barring Talackova from the pageant. Organizers used clearly discriminatory language when stating this new rule, pushing Talackova out of the competition because of her transgender history.

After a huge public outcry and a potential lawsuit, the Trump Organization was forced to admit there was no reason that Talackova could not compete with the other women in the pageant. The organization only vaguely stated that she met the overall qualifications for a Canadian woman to compete, rescinding the original decision and leaving many questions unanswered regarding the previous discrimination against Talackova as a transgender woman.

After the tumultuous weeks of indecision in March and April, Talackova finally competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant this past weekend and made headlines when she captured the Miss Congeniality award. Surprisingly, many headlines focused on Talackova’s loss to other contestants, although she placed among the top 12. The Associated Press headline stated, “Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant loses.” Others gave a nod to her win as “Miss Congeniality” and her overall success in making it so far in the competition.

Although Jenna Talackova has stated she never intended to cause a controversy by entering the pageant, her story has now become a rallying point for highlighting discrimination based upon sex and gender identities and histories. Transgender discrimination plagues organizations, such as the Trump Organization, headed by the memorable Donald Trump, who often tries to play the role of the moral leader of pageant contestants.

Only six years ago, Trump played up this very savior role to pageant contestant and "natural woman" Tara Conner when he allowed her to continue on as Miss America. Her personal life was scandalized after she was accused of having drinking problems and unreliable relationships with men. Both allegations intruded on Conner’s privacy and made a spectacle of her personal decisions after Trump decided to allow her to retain her crown.

May 22, 2012 8:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It will be unfair for her contenders who managed to keep their bodies naturally and had minimal treatments like belly fat reduction and coolsculpting if Jenna, almost perfect, would be allowed in the competition.

January 08, 2013 12:42 PM  
Anonymous Jennifer Urquart said...

Although, we have different comments and reactions about Jenna Tacklova sexuality still we should respect her for who he was before. However, I believe that beauty pageants are exclusively for female only and should be mixed up by other gender. There's a plastic surgery in virginia beach where you can enhance up your well being such as botox, stem cell and etc for girls who want to be more beautiful and attractive.

June 25, 2013 4:42 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home