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Is the world finally ready for a transgender Miss Universe?
Miss Universe pageant organisers have declared a policy change that will allow transgender women to participate in the contest. We asked our readers if they would be acceptive of such women winning the Miss Universe title. And the results show...
A Canadian 'woman' qualifies for the finals of the Miss Vancouver competition, her first step in the ladder to become Miss Universe.
But then she gets booted out, seemingly without a cause. However, she knows the reason.
One week back 23-year-old beauty queen Jenna Talackova was ousted from the Miss Universe contest, after the organisers discovered that she had undergone surgery to become a woman.
Talackova had gone under the knife when she was 19.
The incident led to an uproar worldwide, and rainbow groups slammed the move on social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
Although the organisers described Talackova as a "real girl" they disqualified her, arguing that the rules state that each contestant must be a "naturally born female."
"I regard myself as a woman with a history," was Talackova's defence.
Talackova then started mobilising support for her re-inclusion in the contest and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) actively supported her cause with the Miss Universe organisers.
And then what happened is history. Not only did the Miss Universe Organisation reverse the earlier decision to re-instate Jenna Talackova, it even updated its policies to allow more transgender models to run for the prestigious beauty pageant.
But then the question that arises is, are we really ready to have a transgender Miss Universe? For those of us, who have been watching Miss Universe since childhood, is this be a bit of a shocker?
Hindustantimes.com conducted a survey to seek opinion and gauge whether the world is ready for the gender blending. Here's the result:
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