... AND WORLD PEACE

I was 5 years old when I declared to my family I decided to become a tall, proud and glamorous Miss Universe.

I was 6 years old when I found out that the winner could hold the coveted crown for only one year and I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.

Even then I knew the contestants are absolutely gorgeous, stunning creatures capable of strutting on really high heels, show off amazing gowns, pose and smile and look divine all at the same time.

The Miss Universe Organization is a pageant based on how pretty these girls are, really. It sounds somewhat shallow, I know, but it’s still entertaining to watch. Most of us got over the fact that we will never become one of those glamazons on the TV. I was 6 when I got over it, but it didn’t had anything to do with my looks.

Anyway, this year’s competition has been faced with the controversy that the Canadian contestant Jenna Talackova has generated. The 23- year old is a born male who had a sex change operation four years ago. She will be participating in the Miss Universe 2012 pageant, which makes her the first transgender in history to be part of the annual contest.

At first, when Talackova was denied the opportunity to attempt winning the crown because she wasn’t a “woman” the GLAAD group came to the rescue and began talks with the MUO. The advocacy unit made a breakthrough and managed to get Talackova back in the competition, as well as changing the rules to allow other transgender women to participate in the future. It might be “just” a beauty pageant, but to me, that’s history in the making right there. I applaud the efforts to build equal opportunities for everyone, no matter their background.

So, that matter has been resolved and I can’t help but feel happy for Miss Talackova, and I can only imagine how ecstatic she must feel. But still, I also can’t help thinking that it shouldn’t end here. This is not a message about her story and how she succeeded even if she doesn’t win, but it’s  more of a question I want to ask everyone: If a beauty pageant (emphasis on what’s on the outside is what matters), then why church entities, certain business corporations, and society as a whole can’t or won’t recognize LGBT people, exclusively on their sexual orientation? They are more than just their preferences. They have virtues and flaws, just like everyone else. We must focus on them as who they are, and who they want to become and how they make our society work for the better, instead of telling them they can’t do this or they can’t do that because of who they feel attracted to.

We must be bigger than our own opinions and acknowledge that we are all equal and unique, and we can all do whatever we set our minds to, because after all, it is our minds that will take us to do anything, not only what we look like on the outside.

Let’s take our cue from Miss Universe Organization, and with this small step (perhaps with strappy stilettos) we might just achieve their goal, which should also be ours:

WORLD PEACE

Image via http://www.nydailynews.com