Latina Trans Women Also Want In On Terrible Beauty Pageants

Did you know Colombia has a registry of over 1200 beauty pageants? These pageants represent just about every commodity in existence: Sugar, palms, flowers, mangoes, emeralds, coffee, etc. Now, when I say "represent," I really mean "they just need something to name them," because these dog and pony shows aren't so much about promoting fruits or precious stones as they are about making money.

Many people --  fashion designers, nutritionists, plastic surgeons, and just about everyone in between -- usually bank lots of dough off the self-hating contestants. The smart-looking man in the video above tells it like it is:

"Pageants are a huge business; the business of appearance, of posing, of a poor fetish that sometime's borders on the pornographic and porno-miserable."

Those are harsh words, to be sure, but pageants -- especially in Latin America -- reinforce the idea that women are nothing but commodities themselves, and that their worth is solely based on their physical attractiveness. *Insert your own generic feminist rant here if you'd like*. 

Inspired by Jenna Talackova, the trans Miss Universe contestant, trans Latinas, like Dana Sultana here to the right, want in on the pageant thing: 

"There's is no reason to put trans women in a separate division. They should be considered of the same stature as regular women in contests like Miss Universe."

Which, of course, is totally right: If you're legally a woman, then you should be treated as one. Es mas, even if you're not legally a woman but just somebody that chooses to live his o her life as one, then society should treat you like a lady, too. But why any girl feels compelled to conform to the ridiculous beauty standards that are propagated by pageants is beyond me.