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Miss Universe Organization may allow transgender contestant to return

Alex Myers Contributor
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After Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Universe Canada competition last month for not meeting the gender requirements, the pageant may allow her to return, Fox News reports.

Talackova, 23, is considered a transgender because she was born a male. However, she has considered herself a female since she was four years old and has undergone gender reassignment surgeries since she was 19.

In a statement released Monday, the Miss Universe Organization said, “Jenna Talackova [is allowed] to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions.”

The organization did not specify what those requirements were, leaving her return to the competition up in the air.

This decision comes after more than 25,000 supporters of the former contestant signed a petition to have her reinstated. The organization originally disqualified Talackova because she was not a “natural-born” female.

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