Image courtesy of www.missbonaire.com
Donald Trump's Miss Universe contest on Tuesday threw open its doors to transgender models, allowing men who have had a sex change the chance to be crowned the world's most beautiful woman.
The transgender contestants will be able to strut their stuff in the international beauty championships starting in 2013, while pioneering sex-change model Jenna Talackova will be allowed to take part this year, said gay and transgender rights organization GLAAD.
"The Miss Universe Organization today follows institutions that have taken a stand against discrimination of transgender women including the Olympics," said Herndon Graddick, a spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
"At a time when transgender people are still routinely denied equal opportunities in housing, employment and medical care, today's decision is in line with the growing levels of public support for transgender people across the country."
Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, said on GLAAD's website: "We have a long history of supporting equality for all women, and this was something we took very seriously."
The reversal of longstanding policy followed a campaign by Talackova, a statuesque, blonde transgender model from Canada, who says she underwent surgery to become a woman because she was born in "the wrong body."
The Miss Universe organization, owned by flamboyant and controversial real estate magnate Trump, cited a rule that contestants, who appear before judges in a variety of gowns and skimpy clothing, must be "naturally born" women.
Backed by GLAAD and celebrity feminist lawyer Gloria Allred, Talackova took on the system, arguing, as Allred said, that "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."
Talackova, 23, underwent her sex change operation when she was 19 and is identified on her Canadian passport as a woman.
Miss Universe gave in last week, saying it would "allow Jenna Talackova to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions."
Tuesday's announcement saw that ruling expanded to include all transgender beauty hopefuls.
Miss Universe is "close to finalizing" the wording of the new policy but it "includes transgender women in time for the start of this fall's 2013 pageant season; a time when most of the competitions around the world begin to take place."
The entry of transgender contestants does not actually mean that any woman can vie for the crown. Not only must hopefuls be between 18 and 26 years old, one major taboo remains: motherhood.
"No, contestants may not be married or pregnant," the missuniverse.com/missusa website says.
"They must not have ever been married, not had a marriage annulled nor given birth to, or parented, a child. The titleholders are also required to remain single throughout their reign."
The 2011 Miss Universe winner was 25-year-old Leila Lopes, Miss Angola, who told judges she was so beautiful she "wouldn't change a thing," but her best trait was her "inner beauty."
Source: Yahoo News Philippines
Please. No offense to transgenders but this is too much. With due respect to these transgenders, I think that they should respect women, too. We all deserve that.
ReplyDeleteI so agree. If they want to be respected, they should also learn how to respect other gender's activities as well.
DeleteIn fairness, I don't think all the gay people would like this to happen. My gay friends are against this from happening. They just love Ms U the way it is/had been. :-(
me too i dont agree...create nalang cla ng ms u nila, sana ang sa tunay na babae sa kanila lang....
DeleteI bet, ayaw din naman nila ng "naturally born women" sa gay pageants nila.
Deletei think they have already. that miss amazing thingy
Deletewhy not create or organize another miss universe beauty pageant for transgenders only to be fair and square. i don't hear any "real woman" who joined beauty contests for transgender, is there?
ReplyDeletehindi ako sang-ayon dito. may mga contest naman na sadyang ginawa para sa transgenders. dun na lang sila sumali! wag silang masyadong ambisyoso. kahit ilang operasyon pa ang pagdaanan nila, hinding-hindi sila magiging tunay na babae. lalaki pa din sila maski tanggalan ng lawit!
ReplyDeleteatsaka unfair yun sa totoong babae, yung natural born woman. paano kung ang manalo ay transgender? nakaka-insulto naman yung ganun.
kung hindi nila feel sumali sa mga contest na nagawa na, eh di gawa sila ng TRANSGENDERS UNIVERSE!
korek...nakakainsulto un noh pag nanalo ang transgender...badtrip lang
Deletejoin na c BB!!!
ReplyDeletei'm on the fence with this decision. how can this be forward thinking when they still won't allow mothers and married/divorced women?
ReplyDeleteDitto to that.
DeleteAnd to think that the essence of a woman is being a mother. :)
I think its unfair too since transgenders cant have children.
oo nga...unfair cla
DeleteThen Miss Universe should be called Miss Gay Universe. This is soooooooooooo stupid.
ReplyDeleteYou don't say?
DeleteApparently they should call it "Person of the Universe" open to all to prevent discrepancy, discrimination and controversies. They must also open it to all contestants of all AGE, Gender Status and even Relationship Status.
ReplyDeleteIt is misleading to still call it "Miss" Universe
politically correcting the pageant???
DeleteAhaha. I like this one. Person of the year. Parang awardee Lang ng Time Magazine? Bakit kaya nagpa-pressure Si Donald Trump into giving in? Hindi kaya sya closet gay?
DeleteAs well as no height or weight requirements. Beauty comes in any form, then make it full blast!
DeleteI love Bekis / LGBT community...but i think it's too much......respeto nmn sa mga tunay na babae.....gumawa na lng sana si Trump ng pang transgender na pageant......itira nyo na sa mga babae ang Ms. Universe....
ReplyDeleteI think it is about time that another organization forms "Miss Universe Un-Altered" :-)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I don't think this is fair to natural-born women. And to be fair to everyone else, those who had undergone surgery for aesthetic enhancements e.g. breast enhancement, nose-lifts, butt-lifts, liposuction, etc etc. shouldn't be allowed to join, either.
I am definitely NOT WATCHING the Ms. Universe pageant EVER AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteOne of my closest friends is gay, I two of my closest cousins are gay. But THIS IS TOO MUCH.
They say not allowing the transgenders to join is discrimination. But what about the REAL WOMEN who join who have no choice but to compete with clearly surgically enhanced men? isn't that discrimination too???
- kiray
the more akong manunuod so i can distinguish who the female-born are from the female reborn.
DeleteBeauty Pageants are losing its luster... this is a desperate move by Trump. I don't have anything against transgenders (I truly admire them for having the courage and the RESOURCES to actually go through the transition.) and the LGBT community in general. But this is way over the line. it defeats the purpose of having such a competition. But I would definitely support if there will be a separate pageant for the transgenders. I bet it'll be bigger than Miss Universe!
ReplyDeletei agree with this comment. totally.
Deletehow will the local organizers, specially SR, react to this?
ReplyDeleteMay Ms. Gay Universe naman, dun na sila sumali, anubeh!
ReplyDeleteOMG. It's MISS UNIVERSE not WANNA BE MISS UNIVERSE. Not a fan of that beauty pageant anymore. Let them start a new beauty pageant. In their passport and birth certificate they will always be considered male. Puh-lease!
ReplyDeleteif the gay community would allow natural born females to join gay contests, then by all means, let the gays join miss universe, and any other "miss" beauty pageants
ReplyDeleteThis would be unfair to the women and the gay alike. Judges are always subjective - there will be judges who will favor on women and judges who will favor the gay. It's not going to be just a competition of beauty and brains but a competition of beauty, brains and sexuality from here on (if this happens), as well.
ReplyDeletesigns of the times na ba ito? ang gulo-gulo na ng mundo...wag na nating dagdagan ng kung anu-anong komplikasyon...this is too much and truly unfair...
ReplyDeleteang tradition, nababago ng kalakaran ng panahon. still, may mga bagay na sadyang HINDI TAMA kahit pwedeng intindihin at tanggapin ng lipunan.
ReplyDeletei'm a Catholic but i respect gays, lesbians and transgenders, but we should all know our place. KUNG ANG LAHAT NA LANG PWEDE SA MATA NG TAO, PAANO PA AAYOS ANG MUNDO?
as if anatomically-born women will be allowed to join gay/transgender beauty pageants kung gusto nila. discrimination din iyun against them kung sakaling hindi sila payagang sumali, ha.
ReplyDeletedonald trump succumbed to pressure in hopes of generating a bigger audience and more sponsors for MU. do you think miss world/international/earth would do this as well? most probably not.
this is too much. you cannot please everybody, ika nga. there are even LGBT people who are very much against this change in MU.
If you are smart you will realize that transgendered people are not gays. And please beauty is subjective. And judging in a beauty contest always involves personal bias. Hello?!!!
ReplyDelete.,transgendered people will always be a gay no matter what,because they were a natural born man got it?
DeleteIf you are smart you will realize that transgendered people are not gays. And please beauty is subjective. And judging in a beauty contest always involves personal bias. Hello?!!!
DeleteComing from a "smart" person like you, this is one "STUPID" comment.
Agree with sieghrtApr 13, 2012 05:19 PM
Delete.,no offense ha,pero parang sinampal sa mukha si Ms Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen sa sagod niya na tinanong sa kanya na nagpanalo sa kanya, what is the essence of being a woman?,and yung iba pang mga questions na sinagot ng mga past candidate na nagpa upo sa kanila sa trono as in yun lang wala na ganun.
ReplyDeleteno offense ah. but by what means do you define GAY people? they are those people who dresses/act like those of the opposite sex. so, it is not logical to ask a WOMAN to join a GAY beauty pageant just to show how unfair it is. kasi nga babae sila at hindi bakla. on the other hand, transgendered males are considered na as females kasi nag pa SEX CHANGE na sila logically, babae na sila. so it is unfair nga naman kung hindi sila pasasalihin sa mga activities like this. no offense guys.
ReplyDeletehindi ko ma-gets kung paano naging babae ang lalaking nagpaputol lang ng reproductive organ at nagpadagdag ng silicon b**bs. lalaki pa rin yun, minus his p**** plus some plastic surgery. you mean pwede na dapat ikasal sa simbahan ang isang transgender sa isang lalaki kasi considered babae na sila?
Deletenagpatanggal lang ng 5th limb babae na? asan obaryo niya te? logical nga ang comment mo, ----!
DeleteI honestly think it defeats the purpose of Ms. Universe as transgender beauties do not have natural beauty---ex. boob job.
ReplyDeleteSo, what is the essence of being a woman... :)
ReplyDeleteno offense sa mga transgender o s mga third sex..i love them and i respect them but this one is too much.. if sa pilipinas to dey wouldnt consider it kc sbrng open nmn natin sa kanila and alam nla equal lht tyo at mostly educated. dto kc sa ibang bansa lahat nlng dinadaan s discrimation. kapag di nkuha discrimation agad.. cla mismo kinakawawa nla sarili nila at laging pinapakita na di cla maka fit in wer in sbrng ineembrace nmn ntn cla. ang dami n third sex na sbrng famous and na conquer ang ibang field like fashion designing. so y not gmwa dn cla ng prestigious pageant nla.
ReplyDeleteIt's official! Lesbos can join MR. UNIVERSE!
ReplyDeleteI am gay myself and I am baffled at how the Miss Universe Organization came up with this new policy. Do they wanna appear like they respect diversity just because that transgender model from Canada led a campaign so they agreed to it to save face? I am just completely and utterly puzzled by it.
ReplyDeleteI'm never gonna look at the Miss Universe pageant the same way ever again. Aside from betting on who wins the crown, I'm sure people would now also be betting on who the transgender candidtes are.
Trump is all about business...
ReplyDelete