Talackova says she realized she was female at age 4, began hormone therapy at age 14, and underwent reassignment surgery at age 19. Now at the age of 23, she has entered the Donald-Trump owned pageant, meeting all the guidelines – participant must be a Canadian citizen between the ages of 18 and 27, participant must not be married, participant must not be pregnant – except one: the participant must have been born male.
“She did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form,” explained a release from Miss Universe Canada. “We do, however, respect her goals, determination and wish her the best.”
Talackova is not giving up, however. “All I can say is that they disqualified me because I am not ‘natural born.’ [That] doesn’t make sense because since I was conscious I always felt this way.”
“I’m disqualified,” she wrote. “However I’m not giving up. I’m not going to just let them disqualify me over discrimination.”
When asked whether she regards herself as a transgender or as a woman, she replied, “I regard myself as a woman…with a history.”
Opinions are mixed whether her disqualification was just. Some opine that the pageants are for natural born women while others feel that woman such as Talackova should not be barred. Talackova has sought a lawyer to redress her situation.