What Makes A "Natural Born" Woman?

I think Jenna Talackova is pretty. I'm a heterosexual Andy Jean, and when I see this beauty queen I think, "Wow.... she's really pretty." Like in a sweet, confident, awesome-older-sister kind of pretty. And damn, that girl has an awesome sly grin. She's a beauty queen too-she's actually competing in the Miss Universe Canada this year.

But her being able to compete is a victory in itself. Why? This lady was not born a lady.

According to CNN, Jenna had her official sex reassignment surgery at age 19. And four years later, she got all the way to the final rounds of Miss Canada Universe. But she was disqualified because she was outed as not being a "natural born" woman.

The rules have since been changed to allow Jenna to compete, and she has indeed decided to. But still, this raised a lot of questions on what a woman really is. The question applies to men too, but Miss Universe is a celebration of traditional femininity. It's a competition where women are judged for how well they can wear a swimsuit and evening gown, for Pete's sake. It's a who's-who of stereotypical feminine roles. If a lady who was born an XY baby (as opposed to XX, the genetic karyotype for a typical female) is able to compete in this competition, what does this mean about the nature of womanhood? It's a question of philosophy.

This is a genetic map for a baby born male. See the size
difference between the two strands at #23? That's the X and Y.

For a lot of people who object to object to trans people, the biggest defense is that Jenna wasn't born a woman first. She isn't what she was originally "set" as. I admit, my first instinct upon hearing this was, Well, yeeeeeeah. But so what? Just because Jenna was an XY baby doesn't mean she felt that way inside. I was an XX baby, but that doesn't mean I liked playing with dollies or wearing dresses. Genes tell your body how to make certain proteins, not necessarily who you are. Being a man or a woman is something that comes from inside you. It's something in your heart that tells you who you are. And I'm guessing it's what drove Jenna to go under the knife.

Speaking of knives... a University of Nebraska news article recently implied that Jenna is less of a woman because she's had plastic surgery done. HUH? Since when does having plastic surgery make you less of a woman? Sure, some people are less honest to their true selves when choosing to get plastic surgery (we've all seen that overly Botoxed mom picking up her kids from school). But if plastic surgery helps our outsides to better reflect our insides, what's the harm? The idea of working to be true to yourself sounds very true to being a woman.

I don't think anyone is denying that Natalie Portman is a woman.

As what happens with these controversies, God's name is being thrown around. A lot of people believe He created woman from the rib of man, after all. I found this video on Youtube, calling Jenna's attempt to still compete for Miss Universe part of a "devilish plan," presumably because it messes with the traditional idea of what a woman is. But come on. We're adults here. Granted, I don't know if Jenna should have mentioned "the creator" in the interview with Barbara Walters just because of the fallout that would inevitably ensue. But using God as a tool to enforce heterotypical sexual roles on someone (plus editing images of them and Barbara Walters together with those of demons) is childish.

The U of Nebraska article also implies that allowing Jenna into the competition does not make the competition that of "androgyny." I don't understand this at all. As far as I know, Jenna hasn't come out as Andy Jean. And we all know that androgyny, perhaps like all gender identity, has absolutely nothing to do with what's between your legs. It's all in your head.

And maybe that's exactly what being a woman is about: Your state of mind. If you feel like you're a woman inside, maybe that's enough. Femininity is a cultural construct. We're taught what being a boy is and what being a girl is from the time we're very young. But even then, we always have a choice. Once we're old enough to walk and talk, we can always choose whether to wear the pink, blue, yellow or green hat. And whatever choice that you make... that means more than anything you're born with.