Judge Says Miss United States of America Can Ban Transgender Contestants
info@hypebae.com (HYPEBAE) Wed, 03 Mar 2021 HYPEBAE
A federal judge in Oregon has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit against Miss United States of America, a decision that allows the beauty pageant to continue barring transgender competitors.
In December 2019, Anita Noelle Green filed a lawsuit against Miss United States of America -- which is separate from the similarly named pageant Miss USA -- after she was prohibited from entering. After sending in an application and entry fee, Green was informed by producers that the competition is for "natural-born women," according to a report by Them. Judge Michael W. Mosman ruled that Miss United States of America is protected under first amendment rights as an "expressive organization" as opposed to a commercial one. This means the pageant is permitted to maintain its status as a competition solely for women assigned female at birth.
"This case brought awareness to an issue many people were and still are unaware of," Green said in a statement to Oregon Live. "Discrimination against transgender people is still actively happening in the private and public sector even within the pageant circuit."
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