The Italian media have dubbed the affair “the mystery of the transsexual”: for several weeks there have been rumours that there is a transsexual who has not had sex change surgery among the 2010 Miss Italia finalists and, as the contest nears its final stages, the speculation is reaching fever pitch.
Sara Farnetti, dietician to the sixty finalists and three reserves, has told Corriere della Sera that she believes the rumours started because one contestant is more squarely built than the others. This, she says, is no indication of gender and, as she has now been with the contestants, who are often in their bathing costumes, for three weeks, she believes she would have noticed if there was a transsexual who had not had a sex change operation among them.
The contest rules state that only women who were born female can enter but many people believe that this rule will eventually have to be changed. Vladimir Luxuria, actress, TV personality and Italy's first openly transgender Member of Parliament, has said that the rule, brought in in 1992 after a transsexual entered the contest, is discriminatory. The “Miss Italia Trans” contest began as a protest against this rule and the 2010 winner was “crowned” last week.
Milly Carlucci, who will present the final stages of Miss Italia on RaiUno from 11th - 13th September, says that the girls' past has no relevance to the contest.
Under Italian law a person who undergoes a sex change can have their gender reassigned on all documents except their birth certificate.
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In this video: Miss Italia nel Mondo 2010 (Miss Italy in the World 2010)
