Long time, no see. Sorry about that. I know this blog isn't exactly your first choice for commentary on greater social and political topics, but this post might have to be the exception that proves the rule.
For those of you who couldn't tell from the title, I'll be writing about the Miss Universe headlines coming out from my home country of Canada; our Miss Universe representative, Jenna Talackova, was disqualified by the Miss Universe organization. They state, "she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form."
The specifics of which requirements Miss Talackova did not meet are undisclosed. Based on her photo, it's hard to figure out which requirement she doesn't fulfill:
Maybe the fact that Miss Talackova wasn't born female is the failed requirement?
I'm not going to argue about the rules set forth by the Miss Universe organization. The pageant is not a democracy. It's a private business enterprise and they can set whatever criteria they assume will maximize their profit and brand equity. There are lots of aspects about beauty pageants that come into direct conflict with our rapidly maturing society and this is just one of a vast multitude.
What I want to write about is the letdown I felt from my own country.
When I first saw the headlines, I was extremely impressed that whatever body decides on Canada's representative not only allowed a transsexual to compete, but deemed her our best shot at winning the Miss Universe title. I had thought that my country, one that I'm proud to say has a strong belief in diversity, had turned the corner in understanding and truly accepting the trans community.
A large part of this belief had stemmed from an article I had read last summer. A Calgary, Aberta radio station put on quite a sexist contest to award someone a $10,000 breast augmentation in 2011. The listeners of the station turned the contest on its head when three-quarters of the votes went to a transgendered woman named Avery. In 2009, that same province, in an attempt to stem the rising cost of health care, delisted SRS as being covered. I had thought that despite that 2009 decision, the conversations and understanding that grew from it, led directly to Avery's win, and perhaps in some way contributed to Miss Talackova's win as well.
It was only when I later learned that Miss Talackova had lied on her application to the pageant that reality started to set in. A quick Google search of "Jenna Talackova" will provide you with images of a very beautiful woman. But, this woman felt the only way she would be able to reach her goals, or even be granted the ability to compete, was by lying about who she really is. She was not someone who was always ashamed of her past; she competed in the 2009 Miss International Queen pageant.
The majority of the news-breaking articles here in Canada made it seem as if the Canadian committee had approved her, yet it was the overseers of the pageant in America that had disqualified Miss Talackova. A sentiment that plays right into most Canadian minds; the accepting and tolerant Canadians yet again turned away by the Americans and their behind-the-times social politics. Yet, this was not the case. It was, in fact, the organizers on the Canadian side who dug more deeply into Miss Talackova application after awarding her the win.
But, in my mind at least, the news media (thankfully) was against this course of action. They were pointing out the injustice of this act. They were rallying behind Miss Talackova and the transgender community... right? I saw that a left-leaning newspaper had posted a link to a video of news personalities discussing the issue. Surely, this would be the tip of the sword towards the equality and social understanding the transgender community in Canada was seeking... right?
That was when my jaw, and my heart hit the floor. The male personality trying to show his elevated sense of equality, but that quickly erodes with every detail about transgenderism discussed. The end result is he visibly becomes more and more uncomfortable with the topic. The female personalities initially demonstrate a contempt for the harsh judgmental nature of pageants. Yet, their call for rule changes dissolves completely at the prospect of having to actually compete with a man and instead, the majority of the time is spent expounding on the ways in which it's unfair to let men compete against women. In. A. Beauty. Pageant. Sadly, I have a feeling that if the majority of Canadian news personalities were put on the spot to provide their opinions, the conversations would turn out much the same.
I have total faith that a very smart and dedicated journalist will study, research and provide a truly fair and representative story of the broader transgender issues in this country that Miss Talackova's tale is but a symptom of. But that story has yet to be told. And it won't be for at least another couple weeks I'm sure. By then, it'll be too late. The Canadian conscience will have forgotten. There will be another candidate chosen and announced. She'll look just as stunning in an evening gown and swimwear. She'll have been born a woman. Most will think that on an International stage, this was the best resolution for Canadians; safe and uncontroversial. Sorry for all the trouble, eh.
It shouldn't matter all that much (and we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming soon, I promise). I mean, nothing's really any different than before Miss Talackova competed. It's not like they added discriminatory rules, they just enforced rules already in place. But, it feels so much worse. Because for the briefest of moments, my country said this dream could become a reality:
... and then they took it away.
