Recently, Jenna Talackova tried to enter the Miss Universe Canada beauty contest to be eligible to be crowned, unofficially, the hottest woman on Earth. She ran into a snag though. She was born in Canada, looked beautiful and was in the age range. The problem was that she has the Y chromosome. She was born a man. However, she is one gorgeous (wo)man, now. After doctors performed reassignment surgery on him/her, she came off the operating table looking like Ivanka Trump’s younger sister.

This girl has every chance of winning the crown with her long legs, nice smile, and slim physique. However, her exclusion became an issue large enough to enlist the representation of Gloria Allred, the famous celebrity lawyer. The Donald and his Miss Universe crew quickly realized this was a ratings boom, a hot button issue and relented to allow her to compete.

Miss Talackova would never be confused with a man, and it is obvious she makes a better female than male, but is it fair to allow her in the beauty competition? She was essentially “made” beautiful, not born. Her breasts are truly fake, as opposed to enlarged versions. I imagine that there are a large majority of women in beauty contests that may have had some sort of bodily alterations and therefore why should the most extreme amplifications and modifications be disallowed simply because of gender? Sure, it’s a rule that they had to have been born a woman, but times are changing. When a person is born with an abstract gender, they are now finding that they don’t have to live in that unfamiliar body forever.

I read about this story a few days ago and wasn’t sure how to react. The polls on the Internet show that conservatives, people older than 35 and males don’t like the idea. Teenagers, in their infinite wisdom of hating to put rules down on anyone, support the idea. Tonight, sitting in a Korean restaurant, I read the writing on their wall: “You have to see everything with your mind’s eye to really see it. The most important thing is invisible with your eyes.” These little vignettes are everywhere here; coffee cups, clothing, restaurants, pencils and vitamins. But this one seemed apropos to the conversation.

As we look at her, we see a woman, and therefore the inherent maleness is hidden. But after we find out, our mind’s eye can never see past it again. I wonder if a man can justify calling this woman ugly, simply because she came from the womb an imperfectly settled male. Will you look at her and only see maleness disguised behind a stunning veneer? Will the judges be able to disregard the background of this contestant?

If you met this attractive woman, and she looked, smelled and felt all woman, but she told you she used to be a man, would you be able or even want to believe her? If your five senses give your brain its information, do you believe them or the association your brain has now made between this model and your sexuality? What is the difference between the mother’s womb forming a female body with all its natural characteristics or a doctor surgically fusing the female features together?

I think she should be allowed to compete. I don’t think she’ll win, but regardless, it will be a landmark moment in LGBT history. Evolution now involves modern human science as well as time, reproduction and mutations.