Can only naturally-born females can enter the beauty pageant world?

In Canada, that appears to be the case. Even though a contestant in the upcoming Miss Universe Canada competition put on her application that she was indeed born female, she lied. And the organizers, following a hunch, found out and confronted her. She admitted she was not, having gone through a gender operation when she was 19, following five years of hormone treatments.

The rules of the pageant are clear–you have to be born a biological girl.

There are several organizations, including the National Center for Transgender Equality, that point to situations such as these, which they say discriminate against those who have chosen to change genders. But slights such as being kicked out of a competition pale in comparison to federal laws that provide no real protections for transgenders, they say.

But the organizers claim  this isn’t a case of discrimination, per se. It’s just one of following the rules.

Though there is no bad blood between the contestant the competition organizers according to the TheStar.com, it brings into the spotlight the growing number of transgenders.