A biological man who identifies as a woman is suing an Oregon beauty pageant after being refused entry into the all-female competition.
Antia Green, 29, reportedly filed a federal lawsuit last week against the United States of America Pageants asking a judge to compel the organisation to accept his application and hand over “unspecified monetary damages,” Willamette Week reports.
“I felt as though I was being invalidated,” Green said. “I felt as though the organisation was saying I am not a woman and I’m not woman enough.”
Green accused the pageant of “discrimination” after they denied his application and returned the $195 entry fee. Eligibility requirements for the pageant specify that all applicants must be “natural born female”.
“This is about giving minorities a voice,” Green said. “I believe I’m beautiful, and I want to set an example for all women–cisgender and transgender–that beauty doesn’t have to fit into specific molds.”
If Green wins, it would effectively put an end to all-female beauty pageants.
According to Willamette Week, a win for Green “could establish a legal precedent for Oregon and 20 other states with similar nondiscrimination laws, requiring pageant organisers to allow transgender people to compete.”
