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Research Topic:
Gender “norms” related to beauty and transgendered women in the Miss Universe
Organization.
Thesis:
The stereotypical and objectifying physical standards placed on women by The Miss
Universe Organization do not fit the mold of the average woman today. The Miss Universe
Organization’s removal of a transgendered contestant was based on their views of
homosexuals/transgenderality in regards to gender and beauty norms rather than disqualification
due to “incorrect application information” when Jenna Talackova stated on her entry form she
was a “naturally born female.”
Purpose and Background:
The purpose of this study is to examine the definition of the terms “beauty” and “gender”
related to the recent controversy of transphobia concerning the Miss Universe Organization. This
study will examine the Miss Universe Organization and the recent decision by the Miss Universe
Organization and owner Donald Trump to allow transgendered women to compete. According to
the Miss Universe Organization, there was a previous rule that stating that all competing
contestants must be “natural-born women.” The Miss Universe Organization has held
objectifying standards of “beauty” to which contestants have been held to since the pageants
beginning. This project will look at Jenna Talackova, a transgendered Miss Canada contestant
and the past 10 Miss Canada winners. The purpose of this study is to analyze the Miss Universe
Organization, especially the standards of “beauty” they hold themselves to, in order to find out
what exactly the organization stands for, while trying to understand the controversy and incidents
behind the Miss Universe Organization’s accepting of transgendered individuals. Using Gayatri
Spivak’s concept of the subaltern, this project will study transgendered individuals who are
excluded from society’s established structures. This project uses Judith Butler’s question of
social transformation to determine the makers of gender, appearance and beauty in society.
During research, this project establishes whether or not Jenna Talackova’s success in overturning
the “natural born woman” rule was really a success for her and gave her a voice or if this
incident was simply a case of conforming to the social “norms” related to gender. By focusing on
the Miss Universe Organization, this study will give a concrete idea about what exactly the Miss
Universe Organization considers the “perfect” role model.
This project will be limited to the amount of information on the subject. The idea of
transgendered individuals competing in American beauty pageants is very recent, as the rule
stating that Miss Universe contestants be “natural born women” has only just recently been
changed. With that being said, there are only a few openly transgendered pageant queen
contestants to which this study can research. The boundaries of this study and research will be
kept to the news stories and other social media articles surrounding the acceptance of
transgendered women competing in the Miss Universe Organization. This project looks at the
views and opinions of those individuals involved within the organization as well as the aftermath
of the changing to the “natural born woman” rule. This study will also rely solely on the most
recent news surrounding some of the transgendered pageant contestants, the Miss Universe
Organization and the Miss Universe Organization’s CEO, Mr. Donald Trump.
Literature Review:
According to Minority Rights Group International, America’s history is filled with a
pattern of unconstitutional disobedience against minority groups. Multiple cases show that white
supremacy has always been center stage and those who do not fit the typical mold of American
society (for example white women, African Americans, Mexicans, and most recently
homosexuals), are not given a voice in society and left to battle for equal rights granted in the
Constitution. One of the most disturbing cases of unequal human rights came with the era of
slavery and discrimination against African Americans, or “black people.” For many years, black
people were not given any rights or a voice in the world. They were treated very poorly, help
against their own free will as slaves, not given the right to vote, or any of the other “God-given
rights” stated in the Constitution like life, liberty, and the pursuit for happiness. Even though at
one point, America was divided into the “North.” (Non-slave owning states) and the “South”
(slave owning states), slavery existed in the United States for a very long time. Around the time
of 1955, the African-American Civil Rights Movement began outlawing racial
discrimination against African Americans and tried to restore basic human rights. The movement
was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Many African American’s took part in
acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience including boycotts, "sit-ins", marches, and other
“non-violent” activities. African Americans had no voice; their minority status took away any
rights that they were “legally” bound to have, and so for many years black people suffered the
oppression of a “free” nation. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed that banned
discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. In 1965, The Voting Rights Act
was passed that not only restored but protected the right to vote for African Americans. In “Is
America Ready for Ethnic Minority Rights?” author Salo W. Baron says “Even now, after much
strife, demonstrations, and litigations, the system of complete equality and integration has not yet
been fully attained.” Even in the midst of all the social inequality that our country has fought to
overcome, we still live in a society determined to suppress the rights of minority groups. In the
past, rights of African Americans and other “non-white” groups have had to fight for rights
granted to them in the Constitution.
Today, one of the many battles related to human equality is focused on the homosexual
population. In her book “Gay is the New Black”, Amy Stone focuses on the presumption that
history is indeed repeating itself, showing that human equality is not the main focus of
American’s today (Stone). The gay community has been fighting for years for a right that many
individuals take for granted on a daily basis: marriage. According to The Task Force national
website, although homosexuals have never been denied the right to vote, nor had other rights
taken away like previous minority groups, gay couples are banned from legally marrying in most
America states. This basic human right has led to the gay community battling for equal rights
given to everyone else. The White House Press released an interview between ABC News and
President Obama, where the President said “I think same-sex couples should be able to get
married (White House Press). No past president has ever openly supported same sex marriage.
Though some see President Obama’s pro-gay marriage stance as a step forward for equal rights
for all in America, there is still some debate as to whether this minority group has, or will ever
have, a voice in society. Along those same lines, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force says
that despite gay-rights support groups and services “The anti-gay industry has made great gains
over the past two decades, restricting family recognition in 39 states and parenting in at least
seven. It continues to work feverishly to restrict the rights of LGBT people, among others (Task
Force). The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is also one of the first LGBT organizations to
include transgender people in their mission. A recent study done by the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force shows that (openly) transgender people feel discrimination and violence
towards them in public (NGLTF). Now, in the midst of all the controversy behind LGBT rights
and marriage equality, discrimination against the LGBT community is going one step further.
Recently, there has been a lot of news behind the Miss Universe Organization and the banning of
transgender women from competing in their pageant.
With all of the negativity surrounding the Miss Universe Organization, there has been a
lot of research done by groups involved within the controversy to find credibility with the
organization. According to the Miss Universe Organization, Miss Universe is an
international beauty pageant contest that began as a local “bathing beauty” competition founded
by Catalina Swimwear in Long Beach, California. The pageant began in 1952 and was originally
created to showcase the beauty of women from around the world. The current owner of the Miss
Universe Organization is Donald Trump, who took over the organization in 1996. The Miss
Universe Organization represents the beauty and responsibility of women from around the world.
The Miss Universe Organization has been through a lot of controversies in the 51 years since it
was founded (Miss Universe). However, the Miss Universe Organization has had more negative
publicity over being accused of transphobia than ever before. The organization disqualified a
transgendered Miss Universe Canada contestant, Jenna Talackova, for not being a "naturally
born woman.” A representative from the Miss Universe Canada Organization had released a
statement saying that Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Universe Canada pageant
because her entry form stated that she was born a female, which was not the case. Jenna
Talackova had previously competed in the 2010 Miss International Queen pageant for
transgender and transsexual women in Thailand (Today Show). She was registered to compete
in Miss Universe Canada in 2012. After Jenna was selected as one of the top 65contestants who
would proceed to the pageant, she was recognized from an outside source from competing in
Miss International Queen for transgendered individuals and the Miss Universe Canada
Organization was contacted. Jenna Talackova was disqualified on the grounds that the pageant
rules required competitors to be "naturally born women” (Miss Universe).
Talackova contacted lawyer Gloria Allred, who took on the case and challenged the Miss
Universe Organization, including Donald Trump, to reverse the decision and allow Jenna
Talackova to compete. The organization reversed the decision before the case reached the courts,
with Trump's office issuing a statement that “As long as she meets the standards of legal gender
recognition requirements of Canada, which we understand that she does, Jenna Talackova is free
to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant” (Trump). Since the overturning of the
decision to not allow Jenna Talackova to compete, Donald Trump and the Miss Universe
Organization changed the contestant rules/entry forms which asked if contestants if they were
“naturally born women” (Miss Universe). With all of the news surrounding the Miss Universe
Organization and their previous “biases” towards transgendered women, there has been a lot of
discussion about the integrity of the organization as a whole. Some people have said that the
organization has taken a positive step in the right direction for our society with the acceptance of
transgendered women in beauty pageants. Others have said the opposite, claiming that allowing
transgendered women to compete takes away the rights and glory of “naturally born and raised”
women.
To get a better understanding of the controversy behind Miss Universe and transsexual
women competing, I will study the case of Jenna Talackova and the press behind the story,
specifically the press releases and interviews of those involved with the Miss Universe
Organization. This study will look at clips from conferences in which Jenna Talackova spoke at,
as well as look at videos from her competing in the preliminary rounds of Miss Canada to see if
this study can determine what about her being a transsexual woman brought so many problems
to the Miss Universe Organization. This study will also look at the question of social
transformation as discussed by Judith Butler. During this entire controversy, the question of
beauty in relation to the transgendered beauty contestant has been discussed. In her book, Butler
states the following question: “Femmes posed an important question: was this a femininity
defined in relation to a masculinity already operative in the culture, part of a normative structure
that could not be changed, or was this the challenge to that normative structure, a challenge from
within its most cherished terms?” (Butler 209). Here, Butler is asking if the makers of gender,
appearance and beauty in relation to the stereotypical standards of a “female” are those which are
set by society from an earlier period, and if we have grown so accustomed to this standard that
we as a society are unwilling to change those markers to fit the molds that women today are
fitting. Butler also asks if the feminine culture to which we are so accustomed to is based off of
the gender norms already set by the predominately male culture of society. She questions women
of our society by asking if we are willing to challenge the gender status quo, or if we are too
comfortable in how society views gender issues, to make the changes that we as a society are
already seeing happen. With regards to Talackova, she physically fits the stereotypical markers
of feminist beauty that the Miss Universe Organization seems to hold its contestants to,
especially related to society’s standards of gender. However, because of the fact that she was not
born a “natural woman,” she was disregarded as a female (though sexually she has all of the
characteristics of a female), and received negative backlash for her efforts to compete. I believe
that if Butler were to comment on this controversy, she would say that society is too caught up in
what the past views as the gender markers of “male” and “female” and that it is our duty as
humans in society to make the necessary changes to encompass all of the markers of gendered-
ness, despite what the status quo deems appropriate.
Since the controversy of transgender contestants competing in Miss Universe, many
people have continued to take a stance in favor of the competing of transgender women. Miss
Rhode Island, Olivia Culpo, recently won the title of Miss USA, and is now the recently crowned
Miss Universe. The clinching of the title for her came after, for her final question of the pageant,
was asked, “Would it be fair if a transgender woman won the Miss USA title over a natural-born
woman?” Culpo answered “I do think it would be fair. Some might be a little apprehensive to
take that road because there is a tradition of natural-born women, but there are so many people
out there who have a need to change for a happier life. I do accept that because I believe it's a
free country” (Miss America). After Culpo won Miss USA, sources from many gay rights
activists stated that her crowning underlines the Miss Universe Organization's commitment to
accepting and including all women. An organization that has been closely aligned with the Miss
Universe Organization and the battle of transgenderality is the gay rights group GLAAD.
GLADD and the Miss Universe Organization worked together to change the rules of the pageant
after Miss Universe went under fire for their decision to remove Jenna Talackova from
competition (GLADD).
Theoretical Framework:
This project will use Judith Butler’s book Undoing Gender. In many points in the book,
she questions the judgment of those with authority when it comes to the standards that we as a
society hold individuals to, especially relating to women. In Chapter 10 of her book, she asks:--
What is the good life? How has the good life been conceived such that women’s lives
have not been included in its conceptualization? What would the good life be for women? And to
what extent does gender, coherent gender, secure a life as livable? What threat of death is
delivered to those who do not live gender according to its accepted norms? (Butler 205)”
Here, she states that women may seem to have a “good life”, when in theory the good life
only encompasses the traits that men see worthy for the good life of a woman: cooking, taking
care of the family, being a housewife, etcetera. In relation to that, Butler questions how society
performs in regards to the lives of those who do not fit the norm of “gender” in society. Maybe
people in our world frown upon the image of cross-gendering, as Butler mentions. She even calls
it “death” to those who do not accept the traditional values of the normal gender roles played by
our society. Even for those who accept their gender, yet perform in ways that claim otherwise,
for example those who do drag, she says “since what the example of drag sought to do was to
make us question the means by which reality is made and to consider the way in which being
called real or being called unreal can be not only a means of social control but a form of
dehumanizing violence” (Butler 217). Sadly, Butler recognizes that the life of an individual who
realizes that they do not fit the standard norm of “gender” means that there is sure violence and
retaliation for their differences. Butler’s work can show that the case with Jenna Talackova and
the unequal treatment of her transgenderness can be closely related to society’s views on what is
considered “female beauty” and the realization that many people are unwilling to accept this
obvious “violation” of the social norms of gender and sex, which could be why Talackova was
dismissed from competing in the Miss Universe Canada Pageant. Thomas Gramstad also looks at
the concept of gender stereotyping. In a published discussion of feminist views and gender
norms, Gramstad claims that even today, one of the biggest and most concerning mistakes of the
Western Culture is that there is still the idea that there are two separate and “opposite” genders,
meaning masculinity and femininity. During the conference, Gramstad says:--
“This gender dualism is not only false and without any factual or scientific support, but
also very harmful. One strategy to overcome this wrongness is the idea of androgyny, by which
masculinity and femininity are not conceived as opposite ends of one spectrum, but as two
separate spectrums: you can be or have both at once (or neither), not only the one or the other.
Thus, you can combine the various components of masculinity and femininity in any number of
ways, according to your individual preferences, needs and nature” (Gramstad).
Gramstad is trying to point out the fact that even with all of the advances of our culture
we are still stuck in a feminist view of society. People should be free to develop their own unique
identity without fear or threat of rejection from others. Gramstad often refers back to Ayn Rand’s
views on morality and ethical egoism, which states that individual happiness is the greatest moral
good, and that people achieve happiness by pursing their rational self interests. Ethical egoism
says that people ought to pursue their own self interests, and that these self interests are a basic
human right (Boss 236). In his article “The Culture is the Answer”, Gramstad says “’The
Culture’ is a machine-symbiotic human society. There are artificial intelligences and other
mechanical persons enjoying individual rights.... This includes the ability to change sex back and
forth by will, or to have both sexes (intersexuality) or no sex. "The Culture" is an abundant
society, without an economy of scarcity” (Gramstad). Basically, he is saying that we have the
ability to change society and do what we want to do; however, these individual rights are
hindered despite laws and common ground rules that proclaim otherwise. The right to be whom
one wants to be and live the life one wants to live is being taken away from those who really
have no authority to do so.
Looking even further into the concept of gender studies, there has been much debate
about the voice of society’s “voiceless” groups, specifically women and homosexuals. Gayatri
Spivak’s concept of the subaltern to looks at transgendered individuals who are excluded from
the social norms and established structures of how society should be. In Spivak’s piece, Can the
Subaltern Speak?, she questions the lack of voice heard by the “less concerned” groups in
society, while also questioning gender and sexual differences in the world (Spivak 77). She
focuses on the dynamics of power and race in the history in the banning of Sati as her focus point
into these differences. When viewing the Sati, the only thing people ever heard about in regards
to the Sati were the views of everyone BUT the women who were performing this ritual.
Because of this idea, Spivak begins reflecting on the concept of “can the subaltern speak?” She
closely looks at the history of the subaltern (specifically women in India) and also the radical
views of the Western philosophy. Spivak uses the arguments of politics and power to show her
views on Marxism and the division of labor among cultures (Spivak 85). The point she is trying
to make in this work is that the voices of the “less concerned”, specifically women, are not being
heard, and the key to world success is finding those misunderstood and underappreciated voices,
and actually giving them a voice in society. She seems to delve into the concept of the
exploitation of a “Subject” throughout her work. She acknowledges many times that the key to
the rising of the “subalterns” or “Subjects” is to focus on getting the power to find their voices
and speak out against those who oppress them. However, by doing so, these Subjects must first
depend on someone to help them “speak out” and have their voices heard. To find someone of
authority to side with the views of the “Subjects”, and then to help give them back their voice is
somewhat tricky, however. Spivak says that this action by the subalterns will re-instate their own
voices and their position in society. In one point in her piece, Spivak says that “Power …
produces positive effects at the level of desire - and also at the level of knowledge (Spivak 69).
However, regarding to this project, dealing with the voice of transgender women, power does not
equal knowledge. Secretly, Spivak is trying to point out that simply because one has power, does
not mean that one has the power of knowledge.
Spivak’s concept of the subaltern discusses race and power dynamics and the idea that in
many cases, the subaltern (minority group in most cases) is oppressed in how they are allowed to
think, speak and act. This lack of individualism leads Spivak to question whether
the subaltern really even has a voice in society. Spivak’s view on the lack of voice by minorities
is interesting because rarely do we ever really sit and think about the individuals affected in
oppressed groups. This project will use this concept of the subaltern to look at the thought of if
transgendered individuals really have a voice in today’s society, even after the very controversial
issue of transgendered women competing in pageants. Although transgendered women are now
allowed to compete in the Miss Universe Organization, does this act of “kindness” from those
who changed the rules really give these transgender women the voice that they have really been
looking for? Or is this “acceptance” of the transgender community simply an easy way out of a
complicated situation on the part of those involved with Miss Universe? By using Spivak’s
piece, this project will determine whether or not the work of Jenna Talackova and those
preceding her actually benefitted the transgender community in a positive way and if they really
are winning a battle against transphobia. By referencing Spivak, this project will also look at the
idea that the lack of voice had by transgendered individuals is due to the lack of knowledge by
those holding “power”, specifically the higher authorities of the Miss Universe Organization.
Spivak’s work will provide adequate reasoning as to why society sees the idea of transsexual
individuals in a negative image.
Research Questions:
What are the “norms” of gender(ed) beauty in relation to transgenderality? Does the Miss
Universe Organization pageant hold women to objectifying standards that the average woman
cannot easily achieve?
Methodology:
This project will study the Miss Universe Organization’s history and title holders of the
Miss Canada Universe from the past 10 years, and in doing so will look at the standards that the
Miss Universe Organization, especially Miss Canada, holds contestants to: beauty, poise,
presence, public speaking ability, physical appearance, charm, and intelligence. During research,
this project will define what the Miss Universe Organization determines their definition of the
word “beauty”. This project will take the photographs of the past 10 Miss Canada Universe
winners and compile categories to which each individual woman fits society’s standards of
“beauty” in relation to the characteristics of the transgendered Miss Canada contestant, Jenna
Talackova. While studying the past ten Miss Canada Universe winners, I concluded that there
were certain “beauty trademarks” related to all of the past winners. The Miss Universe
Organization is notorious for selecting winners based on obvious feminist beauty qualities. Even
looking at social media and the influence these sources have today, magazines such as Elle,
Vogue, Seventeen, Self, and many more, depict and use women who are typically smaller sized,
and have obvious similar beauty characteristics that give off the vibe of the “perfect” female.
Many people today associate perfection and beauty with what they see in magazines,
commercials, television shows and movies-where the female shown is skinny, perfectly dressed
with long hair and flawless makeup. Although there are some people in the world who have all
of these characteristics embodied, many women do not possess any of these qualities, which
therefore can cause negative self-image issues. In “Physical Attractiveness and Health in
Western Societies: A Review”, authors Jason Weeden and John Sabini discuss the “makers” of
beauty related to gender: “Evidence from developed Western societies is reviewed for the claims
that (a) physical attractiveness judgments are substantially based on body size and shape,
symmetry, sex-typical hormonal markers, and other specific cues and (b) physical attractiveness
and these cues substantially predict health… Only female waist-to-hip ratio and weight appear to
predict both attractiveness and health in the claimed manner.” This being said, Weeden and
Sabini claim that there are, indeed, certain physical characteristics attributed to gender that
constitute “beauty” and relate back to the social gender norms associated to our society.
Typically, women have certain qualifications of “beauty” that differentiate them from the male
gender. These qualifications of “beauty” related to the Miss Canada Universe contestants, related
to the “typical female figure” are as follows:
Breasts (size not important)
Slim (face and body)
Long hair (color not important)
Good, fit physique
Size 0-6
“Bikini Body”
Clean, white smile
Pierced ears
Makeup/dress/accessories
Bright, photogenic personality (as seen in pictures)
Images of past 10 Miss Canada Universe Winners Relating to Gender Beauty Norms
According to the Miss Canada Universe website and application page, the preliminary
qualifications to be considered to be a Miss Canada Universe (as well as other Miss Universe
potential contestants) are as follows:
To be considered to become a contestant, applicant must provide:
o Name, email address, date of birth, height, city, province, phone number, face
photo, swimsuit photo and an additional photo
Age: 18-27
Must not be married or have been previously married
Must not be pregnant or have been previously pregnant
Must remain single throughout entire reign
Must be a Canadian citizen
o (Not required to be born in Canada; citizen status varies depending on country)
This project also looks at recent news articles to study the controversies standing behind
the recent overturning of Miss Universe’s rule of “natural born women” competing for a title. In
doing this, the research will primarily focus on Jenna Talackova, a transgendered Miss Canada
contestant. Jenna Talackova’s determination to compete in Miss Universe is the foundation for
the battle to overturn the “natural born woman” clause in the Miss Universe Organization’s rules.
This project will also look at if the acceptance of social norms is losing one’s voice, while going
against the social norms is gaining a voice. Using Butler’s work, this project will define the
gendered image of a female and look at if Miss Universe is going against their own standards of
beauty/image with this transgender contestant controversy.
Discussion:
What do the terms “gender” and “beauty” mean in relation to this controversy?
Analysis:
Based on the criteria set forth by the Miss Universe Organization in regards to contestant
application, the following was concluded in regards to the transgendered contestant, Jenna
Talackova:
Age: At the time of her application, Jenna Talackova was 23.
Marital Status: Jenna Talackova was not nor had ever been married.
Parental Status: Jenna Talackova was not nor had even bore a child.
Relationship Status: Jenna Talackova remained single throughout entire pageant, though
this section only fully applies to pageant winner.
Citizenship status: Jenna Talackova was born and remained a Canadian citizen.
Personal Information: In order to be advanced to formal Miss Canada Universe
pageant, all information required had to be provided. Therefore, it may be assumed that
Jenna Talackova had provided all necessary biological information required for
consideration to become a Miss Canada Universe contestant.
The following chart compares the past 10 Miss Canada Universe winner’s preliminary
application status’ to that of Jenna Talackova’s preliminary application status relating to
qualification status for competing in the Miss Canada Universe pageant for each contestant’s
year:
Name Personal
Info
Received
Age Marital
Status
Parental
Status
Relationship
Status
Citizen
of
Canada?
Birthplace
2012 Sahar
Biniaz
Yes 26 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes India
2011 Chelsae
Durocher
Yes 20 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Ontario
2010 Elena
Semikina
Yes 27 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Moldova
2009 Mariana
Valente
Yes 24 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Brazil
2008 Samantha
Tajik
Yes 25 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Iran
2007 Inga
Skaya
Yes 21 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Soviet
Union
2006 Alice
Panikian
Yes 21 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Bulgaria
2005 Natalie Yes 24 Never No Single Yes Soviet
Glebova Married children Union
2004 Venessa
Fisher
Yes 18 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes Ontario
2003 Leanne
Cecile
Yes 26 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes N/A
Jenna
Talackova
Jenna
Talackov
a
Yes 23 Never
Married
No
children
Single Yes British
Columbia
In regards to the “beauty” qualifications implied through the Miss Universe Organization, the
following was concluded based off the past ten Miss Canada winners in relation to Jenna
Talackova and the “typical female figure”:
Slim (face and body): Waist 27”; Hips 33”
Breast Size: 36 C
Long hair : Long, blonde hair
Physique: Weight: 143 lbs; Height: 6’1”
Size 0-6: Size 4 dress
“Bikini Body”: Yes
Clean, white smile: Yes
Pierced ears: Yes
Makeup/dress/accessories: Yes
Bright, photogenic personality (as seen in pictures): Yes
The following chart compares the past 10 Miss Canada Universe winner’s physical
beauty trademarks, as defined by analysis and critique of each woman’s “Miss Canada” photo,
with Jenna Talackova’s contestant photo. Looking at each contestant’s photo, I analyzed the
characteristics of gendered beauty that are trademarked towards the female gender. Although
certain beauty characteristics vary among female individuals, there are some universal beauty
makers that the Miss Universe Organization seems to look for in their contestants and future
pageant winners. The results of my analyses of these photos proved that although there are not
set “beauty guidelines” for winners in the Miss Universe pageant, there are perceived “beauty
guidelines” that the organization looks for and ultimately chooses when selecting a winner.
Beauty
Trademark
/
Year
Slim
(Face
and
Body
)
Breast
s
Lon
g
Hair
Good,
healthy
physiqu
e
Siz
e 0-
6
“Bikin
i
Body”
Clean
,
White
Smile
Pierce
d Ears
Makeup/
Dress/
Accessorie
s
Bright,
photogeni
c
personalit
y
(Seen in
photos)
2012 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 N/A ✓ ✓ ✓ X
2011 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 2 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2010 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 ✓ ✓ X ✓ X
2009 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ X
2008 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2007 ✓ ✓ N/A ✓ 2 ✓ ✓ X ✓ X
2006 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 N/A ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2005 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2004 X ✓ ✓ ✓ 4 N/A N/A ✓ ✓ X
2003 ✓ ✓ N/A ✓ 2 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Jenna
Talackova
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 4 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Conclusion:
According to the research and findings for this project, the rules and guidelines set forth
by the Miss Universe Organization, (formally written and publically assumed), showed that there
are social norms related to gender beauty, especially within the Miss Universe Organization.
Although there are no written beauty trademarks or guidelines to which contestants must meet in
order to participate in competition, there are, however, commonly accepted and shown gender
beauty qualifications that the organization expects out of their contestants, especially relating to
physical “beauty” and appearance. Research also showed that although Jenna Talackova was
indeed in violation of the original rules and guidelines set forth by the Miss Universe
Organization stating that contestants must be “natural born women”, the organization was wrong
and in violation of their own policies by not allowing her to compete in the Miss Canada
Universe pageant even though she fit the gendered norms of beauty for a female contestant.
These stereotypical and objectifying standards placed on women do not fit the mold of our
society.
Looking at the acceptance of Jenna Talackova in competing in the Miss Universe
Organization, the overturning of her disqualification seems to suggest that gender(ed) beauty can
indeed, influence society’s views on what is socially acceptable and what is not. Since she fit the
criteria of a “female” in regards to image and physical appearance, she was granted permission to
compete in competition once again. However, this allowance does not, in fact, prove acceptance
of her situation of being a transgendered woman. She was allowed to compete because she
looked like a woman, not because the Miss Universe Organization accepted her transgenderality
and considered her to actually be a woman. Relating back to Spivak, Jenna Talackova was not
actually given a voice in this situation, because in the end her winning the case only proved that
the stereotypical makers of gender(ed) beauty are still marked by a masculine society. She was
only able to compete because she fit the standards of feminine beauty. She was not seen for
whom she truly is-a transgendered woman. She was seen as an image of how society sees
women in general. In the end, her winning the case is actually a loss for the gender battle. The
overturning of the “natural born woman” rule simply shows that society firmly stands in the
belief that there are “male” gender characteristics and “female” gender characteristics, with little
to no room for improvisation.
This study determined that the final decision given by the Miss Universe Organization
to remove the “natural born woman” rule was due to the legal battle begun by Jenna Talackova
and her lawyer stating that although Jenna Talackova was not born a female, she was, at the time
of her application a legally bound and physically standing woman. She was not given the right
to compete again because of the obvious defiance of human rights, but really because of an
organizations fear of retaliation and close-mindedness of our ever-changing society related to
gender and beauty.
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