Advertisement

Miss Universe May Allow Transgender Contestant To Compete After All

The Miss Universe organization is reconsidering its decision to ban transgender contestant Jenna Talackova from competing, after receiving criticism from equality activists and conservatives like Bill O’Reilly. “The Miss Universe organization will 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,” the organization said in a statement. Yet it’s still unclear what those standards are, as Vancouver constitutional lawyer Joe Arvay, who is on Talackova’s legal team, explains. The “pageant requirement for ‘natural born’ females does not comply with Canadian human rights legislation and that a complaint will be filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.” “In the absence of clarity, we will be proceeding,” Arvay said. “At the present time, it’s gobbledygook.” Talackova has retained high profile attorney Gloria Allred and the two are scheduled to hold a press conference in Las Angeles on Tuesday.

Advertisement