At a press conference Tuesday for
transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova, civil rights attorney
Gloria Allred said her client never asked to see Donald Trump's male
anatomy, TMZ.com
reported.
Miss Universe Canada officials said on
Friday that Talackova could not compete “because she did not meet
the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her
entry form,” a reference to the fact that Talackova was born male.
The organization released a statement
on Monday saying that the 23-year-old Talackova would be allowed to
compete “provided she meets the legal gender recognition
requirements of Canada, and the standards by other international
competitions.”
Allred, who is representing Talackova,
said she wanted pageant owner Trump to eliminate the rule.
“Jenna entered this competition and
gave the pageant her time, her best efforts and her money,” Allred
told reports on Tuesday. “She did not think for one moment that
what she might have looked like at birth would be relevant. She did
not ask Mr. Trump to prove that he is a naturally born man. Or to
see the photos of his birth to view his anatomy to prove that he was
male. It made no difference to her. Why should it have made a
difference to him?”
“I am a woman,” Talackova said. “I
was devastated, and I felt that excluding me for the reason that they
gave was unjust. I have never asked for any special consideration.
I only wanted to compete.”
Pageant organizers responded in a
statement: “Gloria Allred's statements to the press today pay no
mind to the fact that Mr. Trump and the Miss Universe Organization
made the fair and just decision in allowing Jenna to compete in the
Miss Universe 2012 Canada pageant.”
Talackova, a Vancouver resident, has
identified as female since age 4. She began transitioning at the age
of 14 and underwent gender reassignment surgery at 19. Her driver's
license, birth certificate and passport state that she is female.