GLAAD and the Miss Universe Organization announced Tuesday that the
pageant will change its overall policy to allow transgender women to
compete. The larger change comes after the Miss Universe Organization,
which is owned by Donald Trump, said it would allow Miss Canada Universe
contestant, Jenna Talackova, to participate, “provided she meets the
legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards
established by other international competitions.” Talackova had
threatened legal action against the organization when they initially
denied her entry.
“For more than two weeks, the Miss Universe Organization and Mr.
Trump made it clear to GLAAD that they were open to making a policy
change to include women who are transgender,” GLAAD spokesperson Herndon
Graddick said in a statement. “We appreciate that he and his team
responded swiftly and appropriately. The Miss Universe Organization
today follows institutions that have taken a stand against
discrimination of transgender women including the Olympics, NCAA, the
Girl Scouts of America and The CW’s America’s Next Top Model.”
