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Transgender Miss Universe Canada Finalist Jenna Talackova Disqualified From Competition

Miss Universe Canada Disqualifies Transgender Contestant
Lauren Strapagiel
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She may look every bit the part of a beauty queen, but Jenna Talackova has lost her chance for the crown because she was born a biological male.

The 23-year-old Miss Universe Canada finalist was disqualified from the competition after it was discovered she had undergone sexual reassignment surgery, reports CTV.

National director of Miss Universe Canada Denis Davila told the Toronto Star that while they consider Talackova to be a "real girl," Miss Universe rules stipulate that contestants must be a “naturally born female.”

Davila also told the Star that Talackova indicated on her registration form that she was born female. Talackova was disqualified the same day she revealed she was in fact born a male.

According to a statement from Miss Universe Canada, Talackova was disqualified because "she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form. We do, however, respect her goals, determination and wish her the best."

In a 2010 interview, Talackova said she knew she was a female at age 4 and began hormone therapy at age 14. She underwent reassignment surgery at 19.

Talackova told CTV she's "not giving up" and is consulting a lawyer. In the mean time, Miss Universe Canada has removed all photos of the Vancouver resident from their website and another woman has taken her spot.

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Photo from Talackova's Model Mayhem profile.

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20 Transgender Pioneers
Michael Dillon (1915 - 1962)(01 of03)
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Dillon was the first person known to have transitioned both hormonally and surgically from female to male.A British writer, physician, philosopher, and Buddhist, Dillon penned several books including, "Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology" (1946), "Growing Up into Buddhism" (1960), "The Life of Milarepa" (1962), "Imji Getsul" (1962), and numerous articles. He was in love with another famous transgender person, Roberta Cowell, but she did not share his feelings.He died in India -- where he had moved to study, meditate, and wrote under the name Lobzang Jivaka -- just days after sending his memoir, "Out Of The Ordinary," to his literary agent.
Roberta Cowell(02 of03)
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Cowell is the first British trans woman to undergo sex-reassignment surgery. She transitioned in 1951.Prior to that, she was a Spitfire pilot during World War II and a race car driver.Cowell, who was friends with transgender man Michael Dillon, transitioned a year before celebrated American trans woman Christine Jorgenson underwent surgery in Denmark. You can read Cowell's autobiography here. (credit:Alamy)
Louis Gradon Sullivan (1955 - 1991)(03 of03)
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In 1976 Lou G. Sullivan began applying for sex-reassignment surgery, but was rejected because he identified as gay. At the time, "female-to-gay male transsexuality was not recognized by the medical/psychotherapeutic establishment as a legitimate form of gender dysphoria at that time."After mounting a successful campaign to get homosexuality removed from a list of objections which served to keep interested candidates from undergoing surgery, Sullivan finally obtained genital reconstruction surgery in 1986.That same year he organized FTM, "the first peer-support group devoted entirely to female-to-male [transsexual and transvestite] individuals." (credit:Alamy)

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