ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

Introduction: In the Philippines, we take great pride in joining beauty pageants like Miss
Universe or Binibining Pilipinas. When you think of beauty pageants… you think
extravagant dresses, beautiful women, girl power woot woot. These models are
admired by the MILLIONS of viewers especially little girls who look up to them as role
models. HOWEVER, little do we know that behind each pageant, each contestant, and
each crown is a façade to the REAL messages they relay to society. I am here today to
list down the reasons why beauty pageants actually undermine the value of women.

1) First, it is the sexualization of women in VERY direct ways, engaging in activities

associated with “sexiness”. For example, wearing heavy make- up, wearing revealing
swimwear and dresses, having perfect teeth, hair, facial and body features. Did you
know? As early as the 1880’s, beauty pageants or beauty contests are competitions that
mainly focus on physical beauty of its contestants.

2) Moreover, it degrades women instead of empower them. Its standards on women’s

body image and beauty are unrealistically high. According to, Wonderlich et al, reveal
that “of 131 females who participated in beauty pageants, 48% reported a desire to be
thinner, 57% stated they were trying to lose weight, 26% have been told they have
eating disorders. These statistics suggests that contestants are pressured to keep an
extremely unhealthy lifestyle in order to maintain the standard size of a model.

3) Supporters of pageantry see these competitions as a celebration of women. Miss

Universe of 2015, Pia Wurtzbach says “It is an opportunity to get to finally listen to
issues”. As empowering as beauty pageants may claim to be, they reward women for
cultivating the most fleeting aspect of their humanity which is their physical beauty. A
case in point, why does one have to look physically attractive to give awareness about
pressing issues in society?

What we often hear in defense of pageantry is, it is about both beauty and BRAINS.
What organizers do not say is that a certain level of beauty is required to have the
opportunity to demonstrate one’s “brains” in the first place”. 

4) In beauty pageants, what emerges is a depiction of an idealized perfect woman: one

who is smart, confident, and beautiful. Where is the representation? How come there is
so little  LGBTQ+ , no persons with disabilities, no different kind of women with different
kinds of bodies? There is completely a lack of equality and diversity in the industry of
pageantry. This just goes to show that if you are not physically attractive or meet the
standards of society you do not have the same opportunities to share your advocacies
to others.  
 In conclusion, Beauty pageants are the WORST way to celebrate women. We are
sending the wrong message to little girls. The essence of a woman is more than just the
beauty of their faces and bodies. It is not limited to one definition.  It is defined by the
beauty of our compassionate hearts, our intelligent minds, and our strong but imperfect
souls. What we need is a platform that celebrates the inner beauty of women. You don’t
need to join a pageant to make a difference in the world or to raise awareness for issues
of society. “Everyday is a fashion show, the world is your runway” (Chanel, 2019).