Jenna Telackova is a Canadian Transgendered person from Vancouver BC who happens to be a contestant in Miss Universe Canada. Transgender is defined as "persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not
conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were
assigned at birth" (American psychological, 2011).
Jenna was biologically born with male genital body parts, but stated that she had felt like a female since she was four years old and began hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery at nineteen years old ( Newton, 2012). While Jenna did not outright lie to the Miss Universe producers, as she was never asked about her gender identity, she also was not forthright with the personal information. I wonder if Jenna had been upfront about her gender identity, would she have been refused entry into the competition without having any national media attention?
Many people who were against Jenna's entry in the competition thought that she should have reported her gender identity in the application process. I believe that an issue as personal as someones gender identity is something that Jenna had the right to keep private. As a biologically born woman that is heterosexual I would feel violated if I was forced to inform every person I met about my sexuality and gender, so how can we ask others to share this private and personal information?
When the producers and the public were made aware of the fact that Jenna was transgender, controversy arose as gender became an issue. As awareness of Jenna's birth gender gained controversy, Jenna was officially disqualified from the beauty pageant under the grounds that she was born with male genitalia. Supporters of Jenna claim that the rules of miss universe Canada "do not specifically address sex change or plastic surgery" (Weir, 2012), and if we are to disqualify Jenna for being "unnatural" than shouldn't we also disqualify every woman who has had cosmetic surgery? As a woman who has received a breast implant procedure, is not technically natural either.
To the great surprise of millions of Canadians, Donald Trump, over ruled the disqualification and allowed Jenna's entry in the beauty pageant. From Donald Trump's neo - conservative standpoint on the issue of transgendered entrants in the beauty pageant, economic benefits could have been a large reason why Jenna was allowed to compete. In a capitalist world, with neo - conservative individuals making the decisions, a large money sign was seen during the controversy around Jenna's involvement in the pageant. A disintegrating competition and television series, that is losing popularity in the media and with the general viewing population, Miss Universe benefited from the controversy that engulfed the situation. From the oppression of Jenna as an individual, the situation was turned around so that the corporate world could exploit her and use her private situation to make money, and earn ratings.
Hopefully, with all of the pain and humiliation endured by Jenna, we will pass a milestone in human rights and equality, thanks to the decision of a Capitalistic man trying to earn a bigger paycheck.
-Larissa
Jenna was biologically born with male genital body parts, but stated that she had felt like a female since she was four years old and began hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery at nineteen years old ( Newton, 2012). While Jenna did not outright lie to the Miss Universe producers, as she was never asked about her gender identity, she also was not forthright with the personal information. I wonder if Jenna had been upfront about her gender identity, would she have been refused entry into the competition without having any national media attention?
Many people who were against Jenna's entry in the competition thought that she should have reported her gender identity in the application process. I believe that an issue as personal as someones gender identity is something that Jenna had the right to keep private. As a biologically born woman that is heterosexual I would feel violated if I was forced to inform every person I met about my sexuality and gender, so how can we ask others to share this private and personal information?
When the producers and the public were made aware of the fact that Jenna was transgender, controversy arose as gender became an issue. As awareness of Jenna's birth gender gained controversy, Jenna was officially disqualified from the beauty pageant under the grounds that she was born with male genitalia. Supporters of Jenna claim that the rules of miss universe Canada "do not specifically address sex change or plastic surgery" (Weir, 2012), and if we are to disqualify Jenna for being "unnatural" than shouldn't we also disqualify every woman who has had cosmetic surgery? As a woman who has received a breast implant procedure, is not technically natural either.
To the great surprise of millions of Canadians, Donald Trump, over ruled the disqualification and allowed Jenna's entry in the beauty pageant. From Donald Trump's neo - conservative standpoint on the issue of transgendered entrants in the beauty pageant, economic benefits could have been a large reason why Jenna was allowed to compete. In a capitalist world, with neo - conservative individuals making the decisions, a large money sign was seen during the controversy around Jenna's involvement in the pageant. A disintegrating competition and television series, that is losing popularity in the media and with the general viewing population, Miss Universe benefited from the controversy that engulfed the situation. From the oppression of Jenna as an individual, the situation was turned around so that the corporate world could exploit her and use her private situation to make money, and earn ratings.
Hopefully, with all of the pain and humiliation endured by Jenna, we will pass a milestone in human rights and equality, thanks to the decision of a Capitalistic man trying to earn a bigger paycheck.
-Larissa
.
American Psychological Association. (2011). Answers to your Questions: About Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression. [Brochure]. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/transgender.pdf
Newton, P. (2012, May 21). Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant falls short of title. CNN Entertainment . Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/19/showbiz/canada-miss-universe-transgender/index.html
Weir, S. ( 2012, March 27). Miss Universe Canada Disqualifies Transsexual Contestant: She was Born a Boy. Outlook Columbus. Retrieved fromhttp://outlookcolumbus.com/2012/03/miss-universe-canada-disqualifies-transsexual-contestant-she-was-born-a-boy/
This story was truly inspiring. I'm glad to see that today's LGBTQ community are able to be involved in controversial things such as beauty pageants without the scrutiny of being questioned. From a personal standpoint, I believe that she should have been able to participate all along, as she is a woman, and there were no rules stating that transsexual people could not participate. I'm also surprised at the decision Mr. Trump made, as he is a way right-field kind of guy. However, it was probably made due to the publicity and financial standpoint of the competition. I'm just glad to see the community get out there and participate, as they should be able to do.
ReplyDelete-Spencer (poverty group)
I found this story to be quite sad. I feel as though we do not generally consider how people identify themselves, and only consider the sex they were at birth. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the topic of transgenered individuals even in social agencies today. For example, I did some work in the Violence Against Women's Sector as I was a Chid and Youth Worker at a women's shelter, and we had run into some issues surrounding trans women. Do we allow trans women in the shelter even though they "technically" have male genitals? Do we allow individuals in the shelter who simply identify as women? where do we place these person(s)? It's a touchy subject, and one that I find is just recently being broughtup more and more and given some thought. I really admired that you worte about this. It really gives a rise to the topic and explores how transgendered individuals may be more accepted in society today, however are still exploited and marganalized. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteCassandra
Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteI saw this article in the news a while ago and I was really excited you posted about this. I think it is something that a lot of people aren't educated in. This is such an important concept that a lot of people don't even know exists. With recent research and people becoming more and more against bullying I only hope that this issue becomes addressed more and more positively. The show Americas Next Top Model had a transgendered individual once and I was so happy about it. I think that the more that these individuals overcome their fear of society the more others will. This story will hopefully give others the courage to do so.
Your post reminded me of an ad circulating last year it is anti-transgender education.
Link to ad:
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2011/09/medium_sep27please_donot_confuse_me.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gawker.com/5845147/canadian-newspaper-runs-full%2Bpage-anti%2Bgay-anti%2Btransgender-ad&h=638&w=300&sz=53&tbnid=024eN9TtW_1DSM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=46&zoom=1&usg=__FgI965808rmnld5IGpT_fMxOjG0=&docid=xl-wY6UdLC_-DM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7xGdUKWRBunkyQHU24GQCg&ved=0CCIQ9QEwAA&dur=418
Geraldine
This is an amazing story. I think that this story will inspire people like Jenna to not be afraid to be the people that they really are, at least I hope it will. It is Jenna's personal choice on the person that she wants to be, and no one has the right to tell her that feeling that way is wrong. Also, I think that you made a very good point in regard to Jenna's disqualification for being "unnatural" then they should also disqualify those who have gotten plastic surgery. As for what Mr. Trump did, I believe that it was only for the publicity and ratings. I can see that people would watch the program more now because they will want to see how far Jenna actually gets and how she progresses throughout the competition. I personally wish good luck to Jenna and I hope that she does well.
ReplyDelete-Helen
This is truly an amazing story. But it really bothers me that they would disqualify her from the beauty pageant, she is classified as a woman just like everyone else there, and I don't see why her gender at birth has anything to do with who she is now. Articles like this really bother me because I just don't understand why there has to be so much discrimination against the LGBTQ community, they are just like everyone else. Thankfully there was a good out come to this article, whether or not the decision to let Jenna participate was made for the right reasons.
ReplyDelete-Karlie
I really liked your point stating "if we are to disqualify Jenna for being "unnatural" than shouldn't we also disqualify every woman who has had cosmetic surgery?" I also definitely think that this woman is extremely brave in that she stood up to the very traditional institution of pageantry. This woman did not have reassignment surgery to enter the pageant, but was aware of who she was inside from a very young age. I think every victory one person from a marginalized group can make can benefit many. She spoke on behalf of those who feel they can't or who feel they have been defeated by close-minded traditional opinions. I also agree that Donald Trump probably saw dollar signs by letting her participate, as it would rake in more viewers, but now she has set a precedent for other women who have also had this dream.
ReplyDeleteShannon
This is an incredible story that has been shared. I agree with a lot of what you have said. It isnt fair that people are not given equal rights to things just because they are born one gender and identify as another. The people that backed Jenna in this situation were incredibly fair and it helped to let the world take a step back and see a person for who they are not what they look like.
ReplyDeleteTrista
Good choice to blog about this story. I have watched these pagaents before but never wondered if any of them were transgendered. As you stated it is something personal that she does not need to share with everyone. She identifies herself as a female and the competition is for females so why should she it be an issue that she was once a male? I am happy that Donald Trump did not decide to disqualify her because of what she once was. She should have every right to compete now because she is a female.
ReplyDeleteAlexandra
I had totally forgotten all about this whole situation until you blogged about it! I am really glad that this story ended up getting so much attention. You stated "I wonder if Jenna had been upfront about her gender identity, would she have been refused entry into the competition without having any national media attention?". I feel that if she would have given out information about her gender that she would never have received national media attention, and probably wouldn’t have even received a reason why she hadn’t been considered for the competition. There was no rules or regulations stating that a transgender person could compete in the Miss Universe Canada competition. So there was no reason for her to feel that she was hiding information, or not telling the complete truth. I feel that people need to continue educating themselves so that these individuals and understand they are still people. Just because they were born one gender and identify as the other, doesn’t make them any less of a person. I was very happy that Donald overruled the disqualification and let her continue in the competition. Because they decided not to kick her out of the competition she was able to be the voice of many who couldn't speak and allow her to be heard. And she was also able be an ally. She stood strong and tall and continued in the completion even though many were unhappy she was still competing and others were setting her up to fail. I am upset how Donald Trump ultimately saw it as a money maker instead of for what it was, but at least he kept her in the competition and gave her a fair chance!!
ReplyDeleteAlysha (LGBT group)
I herd about this topic when it was first happening, and i count stop but think how wrong it was. She looks like a women, acts like a women and if these people didn't find out that she was transgendered the judges and media would have never known! Also the fact that there was no rules and regulations stating that a transgender person could not join the pagent, so they shouldn't have made a big deal about it.
ReplyDeleteLorie