Jenna Talackova, a contestant for Miss Universe Canada has been recently disqualified because she was born male.
I love her use of the phrase "a woman, with a history." Do you find she is perhaps more scandalous/dangerous because of how well she 'passes'?
It seems as though there are no official 'rules' regarding sex at birth. One wonders if Ms. Talackovas case will be the precedent for new explicit requirements.
I am intrigued by these pageants-- the 'public' assessment of gender/woman-ness as well as the relationship to drag I now realize are absolutely fascinating.
What do you think?
As far as the relationship to drag goes, we are all women (or men), with a history... I think that she is dangerous because of how she passes; she triggers heterosexual male anxiety ("If I find a woman sexy who used to have/has male anatomy, does that make me gay? It's a TRAP!") and also poses a threat because once a group learns her history, she disrupts, or at least challenges, traditional female space.
ReplyDeleteI have to wonder about the reasons people join pageants. In the past few decades, competitions like Miss America have added talent sections... It's a little deceptive to add that element as if it will some how make the competition "better." If there's a problem with the competition, tacking something like that on won't help.