1.

0 Introduction
1.1 Attention getter: Beauty without brains is nothing.
1.5 Thesis statement: The problem of the irrelevance of beauty pageants in the
Philippines can be solved by promoting social advocacy and giving more importance in
the usage of Filipino language; however, the best solution is promoting cultural
advocacy.

2.0 The Problem : The irrelevance of beauty pageants in the Philippines

2.1 Description of the problem: Beauty pageants are becoming irrelevant already
due to its lack in addressing social issues.
2.2 Causes
2.2.1 Beauty pageants in the Philippines only focus on gowns, bikinis, a
simple talent and question rather than solving problems and helping the country.
2.2.2 The impact of the unrealistic standards of beauty set by society to
the contestants is given more importance.
2.3 Negative effects and consequence
2.3.1 The audience are not entertained due to the lack of content beauty
pageants produce.
2.3.2 The stigma of the contestants is owning only beauty and not brains.
2.4 Affected sector/s
2.4.1 The audience are affected by not learning anything from the beauty
pageants.
2.4.2 The candidates representing the Philippines affects the image of the
country.

Transition Sentence: The main reason why Filipinos do not give emphasis in beauty
pageants anymore is because of the lack of advocacies presented in the pageant. The
best way to begin this is to promote three kinds of advocacies.

3.0 Solution #1: The contestants should promote social advocacy to raise awareness of
what the contestant supports.
3.1 Strength/s or Good point/s
3.1.1 The audience is given a chance to discover each contestant’s inner
beauty through what each advocates
 3.1.2 It shows how the contestants give importance in what they believe in
and is strongly fighting for.
3.2 Weakness/es
3.2.1 The possibility of having only a small target audience for the social
advocacy.
3.2.2 The sustainability of the social advocacy of the contestant.

4.0 Solution #2: The contestants should give more importance in the usage of the
Filipino language than just focusing on the physical aspect which is their external
beauty.
4.1 Strength/s or Good point/s
4.1.1 Showcasing the beauty of the Filipino language with the chosen
dialect of the contestant
4.1.2 The usage of the different variations the Filipino language offers.
4.2 Weakness/es
4.2.1 English is the universal language used today.
4.2.2 Filipino contestants answer in English to show their ability to speak
in a foreign language.

5.0 Solution #3: The contestants should promote cultural advocacy to boost the different
cultural aspects of the Philippines.
5.1 Strength/s or Good point/s
5.1.1 The beauty of the Philippines is promoted by the contestant.
5.1.2 The values of the country will be shown worldwide.
5.2 Counter-arguments or opposing opinions
5.2.1 The diverse cultures present in the Philippines.
5.2.2 The possible inequality of promotion in some cultures of the
Philippines.
5.3 Refutation: The effect of the advocacy stays even if the reign of the
contestants ends.
6.0 Conclusion
6.1 The promotion of the country’s cultural advocacy will boost the Philippine
economy.
6.2 The world is looking at the Philippines as a rising country.
6.3 Filipinos should give importance with how they promote their culture to the
world.
 The Irrelevance of Beauty Pageants in the Philippines

Beauty without brains is nothing. Beauty pageants in the Philippines have been a

favorite past time for Filipinos even in the past. According to Ocampo (2017), religious

pageants were the first beauty contests in the country. This was introduced in the

Spanish colonial period as the “Flores de Mayo” in which the Virgin Mary is celebrated.

Afterwards, the 1908 Manila Carnival was established. Escalona (2018) stated that the

Filipinos’ love for beauty pageants led to the said 1908 Manila Carnival wherein a

“Carnival Queen” was to be chosen. Manila Carnival was made to celebrate the

relationship of United States and the Philippines, and to showcase the commerce and

agricultural aspect of the country. This was the start of the rising of numerous beauty

contests in barangay celebrations. According to Escalona (2018), the fondness of the

Filipinos for beauty pageants has dubbed beauty pageants as the Oscars and Golden

Globes of the country. The Philippines has accumulated 14 crowns; four crowns for

Miss Earth, six for Miss International, one for Miss World and three coronations from

Miss Universe (Escalona, 2018). In fact, the Philippines has been very consistent in

being part of the top 10 in the four beauty pageants which are Miss World, Miss Globe,

Miss Universe, and Miss International. Nowadays, these events seem to become more

irrelevant as time passes. This is because of the lack in addressing social issues and

concerns in the said beauty pageants. The problem of the irrelevance of beauty

pageants in the Philippines can be solved by promoting social advocacy and giving

more importance in the usage of Filipino language; however, the best solution is

promoting cultural advocacy.

 The absence of addressing social issues contributes to the many reasons as to

why beauty pageants are insignificant in the Philippines. One could be that beauty

pageants focus mainly on gowns, bikinis, a simple talent portion, and a question &

answer segment rather than focusing on solving problems and helping the Philippines.

Miss Universe 2016, held in the Philippines, attracted approximately a billion of viewers

worldwide (Chan, 2017). According to Chan (2017), the five most anticipated portions of

Miss Universe pageant that Filipinos forestall are swimsuit competitions, national

costumes, evening gowns, opening and musical numbers, and question and answer

portion. Another cause is that the impact of the unrealistic standards of beauty set by

society to the contestants is of greater importance. Requirements like height,

complexion, and the range of the weight are the following screened by agencies. To be

qualified in Mutya ng Pilipinas, the participant must be at the age of 18 to 25 at the time

of the pageant, a height of 5’5” and a beautiful face and figure (Callanta, 2017). With all

these, the audience are not entertained due to the lack of content beauty pageants

produce and the stigma of the contestants owning only beauty and not brains. It is very

much seen that contestants are unaware of the social issues surrounding the country. In

Binibining Pilipinas 2018, Sandra Lemonon, one of the top 15, was asked about the

“Build, Build, Build” program of the government. Lemonon was unable to answer (Ghaz,

2018). The said contestant was not able to answer the question due to her lack of

knowledge regarding the program. This shows how the stigma of having only beauty

and not brains is reasonable. Beauty contestants are considered as representatives of

the country. The audience are affected by not learning anything from the beauty
pageants. Therefore, every move the contestant makes gives a great impact on how the

audience will see the Philippines. Also, the candidates representing the Philippines

affects the image of the country. The main reason why Filipinos do not give emphasis in

beauty pageants anymore is because of the lack of advocacies presented in the

pageant. The best way to begin this is to promote three kinds of advocacies.

The contestants should promote social advocacy to raise awareness of what the

contestant supports. This gives the audience a chance to discover each of the

contestants’ inner beauty. Cockrell (as cited by Jondreau, 2014) said that a heart for

service should be present in the contestants. Cockrell, a beauty pageant contestant,

has been representing the United States in Miss Progress International which invites the

contestants to submit a project proposal related to the environment, health, and human

rights (Jondreau, 2014). With project proposals promoting social advocacy, the

possibility of reaching only a small target audience for the advocacy is to be considered

given that the aim of a social advocacy is very specific.It is only within a group of

people. The sustainability of the social advocacy of the contestant is also another factor

to be considered because of the yearly change of a pageant contestant after the

competition.

Other than that, the contestants should give more importance in the usage of the

Filipino language rather than just focusing on the physical aspect which is their external

beauty. Being able to do so, the contestants are able to showcase the beauty of the

Filipino language when they choose to speak in this dialect. The usage of the different

variations of the Filipino language are one of the many ways to showcase the
language’s beauty and, at the same time, it highlights the cultural differences present in

the Philippines. The Philippines has over 170 languages and 8 main dialects namely

Bikol, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray

(Racoma, 2014). Despite all those, the contestants still choose to speak in English

because it is the universal language used today. Contestants would rather use English

because it is also a way to show their ability to speak in a foreign language. According

to Abanilla (2017), Miss Universe 2016, Maxine Medina, had grammar lapses and was

suggested to hire an interpreter. Maxine was the first filipino beauty pageant contestant

to hire an interpreter since Filipinos are known for their ability to speak in English. Even

if Medina had a translator, Medina was persistent to answer in English which was said

to be a reason why Medina lost.

To be able to promote the beauty of the Philippines is the best solution. As a

representative of the Philippines, the contestant is able to show the country’s values on

a worldwide scale. The contestant should promote cultural advocacy to boost the

different cultural aspects of the Philippines. The promotion of the country shows the

wonders the Philippines can offer. It will entice tourists to go to the country and boost

the economy. In Miss Tourism Philippines, the pageant focuses on promoting Filipino

art, culture, traditions, tourist attractions and products. During the night of the pageants,

the contestants would parade wearing their native costumes to advocate each

municipality’s history. The contestants would then engage in public relation and political

appointments and attend local cultural events. Although the general culture of the

Philippines is promoted, the diverse culture in the Philippines could possibly lead to the
ignorance of other cultures also present in the country. Minority groups in the

Philippines are usually discriminated by their religion and is given a negative stigma

(Sangalang, 2014). An example of a minority group are the Lumads which is based in

Mindanao wherein the government has stripped off their land and has resorted to violent

approaches such as extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances (Manlupig, 2015).

With this, the Lumads are occupied with protecting their ancestral land than promoting

the beauty of their culture. Thus, having the lack of publicizing their culture through

beauty pageants.

The winners in Binibining Pilipinas were given prizes such as a Binibining

Pilipinas Charities, Inc. worth P500,000, an endorsement contract amounting to

P500,000, complete wardrobe sponsorship, insurance, 18 months of salon and gym

sponsorships and a full scholarship (Monde, 2017). With these prizes given to the

winners, even if the contestant’s promote cultural advocacy through their reign, the

effect of the advocacy that stays even if the reign of the contestants ends is

questionable. Half a million of sponsorship deals would not be able to support the

advocacy for a long period of time. More resources especially financial resources would

be required to sustain the advocacy.

In conclusion, the promotion of the Philippines’ cultural advocacy best improves

the economy of the country. By promoting the country’s culture on a worldwide scale,

the tourism of the country is aided. Perez (2017) stated that tourism contributed to the

economy by a total of 8.6 percent in 2016. The gross domestic product amounted to

one billion pesos than that of the previous year. In fact, the Philippines is called “Asia’s
rising tiger” (Calica, 2013). This is due to the Philippines having the world’s fastest

growth as a developing country (Yap, 2017). Therefore, Filipinos should give

importance with how they promote their culture to the world because placing the country

in a good light encourages the worldwide audience to experience the country’s culture.

Thus, helping the economy rise. By doing this in the beauty pageants, a wider audience

will be reached and watching pageants would be relevant again.

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