VANCOUVER – A transgendered woman from Vancouver will get another chance to compete for the title of Miss Universe Canada.
The pageant has announced that Jenna Talackova, who was kicked out of the beauty contest last month after admitting she was born a male, can compete in the May 19 event.
A statement posted on the pageant’s website late Monday says Talackova can participate “provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada.” The pageant says she must also meet the standards established by other international competitions.
The statement, which did not elaborate on what those gender recognition requirements were, came shortly after Talackova announced a news conference in Los Angeles with high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred for Tuesday.
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Allred’s office said its news conference is still proceeding as planned and that Allred would not comment on Monday night.
The decision to drop Talackova from the pageant raised her profile considerably, with pictures and YouTube videos of the six-foot-one-inch blond getting plenty of clicks. News outlets in the United States, Britain, Canada and elsewhere picked up the story.
Talackova vowed to keep up the fight urging her supporters to sign an online petition calling for her reinstatement. By Monday night, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition, which calls the decision to disqualify her “discriminatory, unjust, and quite frankly disgusting.”
Officials with Miss Universe Canada denied the discrimination claims, saying the rules established by the Miss Universe franchise state each contestant must be a “naturally born female.”
In an interview posted on YouTube during the Miss International Queen 2010 contest in Thailand, Talackova said she knew at a very young age that she was female and started hormone therapy when she was 14.
She said she went through gender reassignment surgery when she was 19.
The Miss Universe Canada pageant was created in 2002 by Beauties of Canada, which says it holds the exclusive rights to send contestants to the Miss Universe Pageant.
_ With files from The Associated Press.
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