Miss Universe to accept transgender contestants
GLAAD and the Miss Universe Organization have announced that transgender contests may take part in the international competition.
The announcement comes after trans contestant Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Canada pageant when organisers discovered she had been born male.
The Miss Universe Organization subsequently reversed that decision, allowing Ms Talackova to compete subject to the “standards established by other international competitions”.
Herndon Graddick, a spokesperson for GLAAD said:“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.
“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.
“Jenna and all of the LGBT advocates who have called for this change and spoken out in support of transgender women are to be commended. 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, the president of the Miss Universe Organization said: “We want to give credit where credit is due, and the decision to include transgender women in our beauty competitions is a result of our ongoing discussions with GLAAD and not Jenna’s legal representation, which if anything, delayed the process. We have a long history of supporting equality for all women, and this was something we took very seriously.”
