transgender news stories on Newser

Transgender Miss Universe Beauty Ends in Top 12

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 21 May 2012 00:25:18 CDT

The first-ever transgender contestant in a Miss Universe pageant lost—but finished in the top 12 of 61 participants. Jenna Talackova failed to make the cut to the final five in the Canada contest, but was one of four contestants named Miss Congeniality, reports People . Talackova was born a male...

Bishops Launch Investigation Into Girl Scouts

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:31:00 CDT

First it was the nuns , now the Girl Scouts. They're the latest target of an investigation by the Catholic church. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is launching an official inquiry into the scouts' activities. Seems the merit-badge hungry females have been taking positions unpopular with the Catholic hierarchy—such...

Transgender Beauty Will Likely Compete in Pageant

Rob Quinn — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:28:00 CDT

The Trump organization appears to have had a change of heart about a Canadian beauty who had a change of sex. Jenna Talackova—a transgender contestant booted from the Miss Universe Canada pageant —will be allowed to take part "provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada and...

UC Applicants May Be Asked if They're Gay

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:30:00 CDT

University of California and California State campus officials are making plans to ask for students' sexual orientation on application and enrollment forms, reports the Los Angeles Times. The move would make the state educational system the largest in the nation to request such information. Providing answers would be voluntary. The...

Miss Universe Execs Boot Transgender Contestant

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:02:00 CDT

Jenna Talackova might look like a babe, but that's not what it says on her birth certificate, so she's getting the boot from Canada's Miss Universe pageant. The transgender contestant from Vancouver might be a "real girl" now, say officials, but pageant rules require that each contender be a "naturally...

For Obama's Transgender Ex-Nanny, Desolation

Matt Cantor — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:45:05 CST

Indonesia is home to 7 million transgendered people who face ongoing harassment, rape, and murder—and Barack Obama's former nanny is among their ranks. Following years of abuse, Evie, born a man, decided to leave cross-dressing behind after a friend was brutally murdered in 1985, the AP reports, in an...

Transgender Girl Scout, 7, Triggers Cookie Boycott Call

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:03:00 CST

A California teenager is attempting to organize a boycott of Girl Scout cookies because the Scouts allowed a 7-year-old transgender member to join last year. Why are the Girl Scouts "willing to break their own safety rules to accommodate transgender boys?" a girl who calls herself Taylor asks on a...

Gender-Bending Fish Swap Sexes in Harems

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:05:05 CST

Talk about a dynamic dating scene. The richly colored hawkfish of southern Japan can transform into a female or male depending on circumstances to improve their reproductive chances, New Scientist reports. Many marine animals change gender during a lifetime, but in the hawkfish, scientists have for the first time discovered...

Macy's Worker Bars Transgender Shopper From Changing Room

Matt Cantor — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:34:05 CST

An employee at a Texas Macy's says she was let go after she told a transgender shopper she couldn't use the women's changing area. Natalie Johnson noticed a teen she thought was male shopping for women's clothing. When the customer headed to the women's dressing rooms, Johnson, who says her...