Transgender women should not be allowed, says Vinah

MBABANE - Former Miss Swaziland licence holder Vinah-Mamba Gray is against the new rule that allows transgender women to partake in the Miss Universe pageant.

Mamba-Gray feels that the organisers of the pageant should rather host a separate contest for transgender women. A transgender woman is a person who was born a male but has had surgery to make them look female.

According to News24, the Miss Universe pageant organisers announced on Tuesday that transgender women will be allowed to participate in the Miss Universe beauty pageant next year.

Pageant officials said they are working on adjusting the official rule policy change, but expect final word to come soon.

Stages leading up to next year’s Miss Universe pageant begin this summer. The move comes five days after the organisation said that Jenna Talackova could compete in the Miss Universe pageant this year.

Talackova, a Vancouver resident, underwent a sex change operation four years ago after being born a male.

Her sex change initially led organisers in Canada to disqualify her from the 61st Miss Universe Canada pageant in May, citing a rule that she must be "naturally born" a woman.

Talackova pleaded with the pageant’s leaders to drop the rule.

"I think it’s not fair because I believe contestants should join because they are naturally born women. It is not a good thing at all," Mamba-Gray said.

Another former beauty queen Antoinette du Pont said the issue is very tricky and debatable.

Du Pont said it is down to the pageant organisers and their rules. "Some countries now allow gay marriages so such things will definitely get in.

I believe when someone changes his sex they then get a document that certifies that they are now female so there is nothing we can do about it," she said.

The Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture CEO Stanley Dlamini shared the same sentiments as Mamba-Gray and said the new rule is not a good one.

"This might depend on the countries but we as Swazis it’s simple, for international pageants we send someone who was born ‘imbali’ which means a pure woman. It’s as easy as that," he said.

Comments

If transgender beings are allowed then the competition cannot be called Miss Universe. This is simply because a transgender being is neither a women nor a man. It is something in between. Swaziland should not send anybody to compete in this competition in future. It would be folly to send a Swazi to compete in the presence of strange entities.
Apr 12, 2012, 5:13 AM, Mbutfo

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