Miss Universe Canada, which is owned by Donald Trump and feeds its winner into the Miss Universe pageant, selected Talackova to be one of its 65 finalists for the 2012 competition, which will see its crown awarded May 19 in Toronto. Eligibility requirements for various feeders into the Miss Universe system indicate that a contestant must be female and never have been married or pregnant. The rules for Miss California, which feeds into Miss USA and then into Miss Universe, include the broad requirement that contestants "must be of good health and moral character."Sp under the criteria of the contestant " must be a woman" Talackova was ruled out. It was stated that " Talackova had to have been born a female to participate. " This sparked outrage from sexual minority advocacy groups.
The group released a statement, saying, “The Miss Universe Organization should look to state non-discrimination laws and institutions including the Olympics, NCAA and The CW's America's Next Top Model, which do not discriminate against transgender women."It was also cited that this case was clearly a human rights issue, but it was not decided whether it fell under the issue of women's rights or transgender issues. It was argued that because she was recognised as a woman in Canada, it was a woman's right issue, but transgender groups saw it as a victory for the transgender community. But irrespective of this, it still stands that a person not born a woman, was allowed to compete in a competition that clearly stipulates that you have to be a woman to enter into it.
I think its a win for everybody, irrespective of sexuality. I must commend the organising committee for their forward thinking, in that they have the forethought to in my opinion, take a bold step towards equality for all.