Bation, Reniel James P.

BSEE 1-2
ASSESSMENT NO.3: GENDER DISCOURSE

The beauty queen is a person that is usually a woman selected by a group. Individuals

who represent their collective identity as a symbolic representation to a bigger, sometimes

global, crowd. Beauty queens are usually selected through beauty pageants or competitions,

which may differ by social background, environment, and requirements for judging. A beauty

queen frequently makes symbolic appearances at public functions during her reign, wearing a

tiara (crown) and sash (often emblazoned with the title she holds and/or the name of her

sponsor), however she is shaped, chosen, and even generated within the social background of the

beauty pageant institution.

Beauty contest have always been a subject of controversy. Some says that it’s a platform

on empowering the women today. And some considered beauty pageants as a subject of

judgement to women especially in terms of their physical appearance. Didas Gakire, a gender

activist, believes these pageants plays a vital role on empowering women. “Beauty is part of

what they consider but there are also other values like culture and one’s intellect that the judges

look out for I think people choose to misinterpret the relevance of beauty contests but their

significance is evident to everyone. The girls that take part in these contests turn out to be

responsible young women who engage in activities that build the country”, he says. Beauty

contest have big impact on women empowerment as it serves as a platform for them to be heard,

for them to voice-out and for them to speak. A British film that was released in UK that tells the

story of the controversial 1970 Miss World contest from the dual viewpoint of Miss Grenada

Jennifer Hosten (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who won a historic victory, and the Women's
Liberation Movement supporters, led by Sally Alexander of Keira Knightley, who famously

protested against the contest. The film gives all the main players a complex portrayal: beauty

contestants, feminists, contest managers, and even host Bob Hope and his wife Dolores are given

space to expose their motives and different views on the institution of Miss World, gender

equality and intersectional feminism.

Does really pageants promote women empowerment? A series of focus groups and semi-

structured interviews were carried out to explore urban Nepali women's assumptions about the

introduction to Nepal of beauty pageants. This qualitative study explored how Nepali women

who strive both to escape patriarchal constraints and maintain long-established cultural values

are influenced by the conflicting pressures of modernization and traditionality. In Nepal, the vast

majority of participants demonstrated ambivalence about beauty contests. They shared the belief

that beauty pageants will help empower Nepali women, promote Nepal's growth, and positively

portray Nepal on a global level. In addition, participants called for expanding to rural,

impoverished, and lower caste Nepali women the perceived benefits of pageant participation. At

the same time, participants expressed concerns about the objectification of Nepali women's

participation in these competitions, deplored their commercial aspects, and felt that beauty

pageants might lead to the creation of disturbance of the body image. In a developing consumer

economy that retains strong patriarchal standards, their ambivalence can reflect their conflicting

roles as middle-class people and as women. Their nuanced and contradictory responses help to

elucidate the process of social gender change in a developing world during a period of rapid

societal transformation. Also, according to Miss Great Britain 2017, Anna Burdzy, “The more

you look into it, you see the strong women who are representing their countries, and it’s really

about putting yourself out there. I’m a human rights master’s degree student, and so I see myself
having such a platform to raise so much awareness to various, not just charities, but causes.

We’re all so privileged. There are 92 of us with incredible platforms. We can share throwing a

pebble into the sea and watching the ripples; and because we have such platforms, we’re kind of

making waves. Especially being a woman now, it’s kind of just empowering women. Paying it

forward, you know, we’re empowered so we want to empower the next person, and she can

empower the next person. And that’s how you make change”. As her point, using beauty

pageants can be a platform to give awareness to the women to empower them, as them, beauty

queens can empower the next women and so on then it will make a change.

Pageants such as Miss Intercontinental believe in beauty's strength. Pageants are

celebrated around the world; it's a perfect place to share one's feelings and thoughts. People look

up to beauty queens as influencers and role models in a pageant-loving nation like the

Philippines. Beauty competitions pave the way for the queens of beauty to support their activism.

The list of advocates is long, potentially infinite, and could be about anti-bullying,

empowerment, education, and mental health. A space for diversity is also the pageant scene. In

the world stage, each nation has a delegate, which becomes an avenue to recognize various

beauty ideals each country has. Like Akiko Kojima, the first Asian to earn the Miss Universe

crown in 1959. In 1977, Janelle Penny Commissiong became the first Miss Universe of African

descent. In 2001, Agbani Darego became the first African native to become Miss World. The

beauty of their area and country is reflected by them. Knowing your worth as a human being

should be the foundation of true beauty and trust. Pageants may give some people that sense of

value, beauty contests may offer them a chance to change the world.
 REFERENCES

Crawford, M. (2018). Globalizing Beauty: Attitudes toward Beauty Pageants among Nepali

Women. Feminism & Psychology, 1;75.

Eugenio, A. M. (2019, February 7). Inside Manila. Retrieved from Real Talk:

https://insidemanila.ph/article/336/more-than-skin-deep-what-makes-beauty-pageants-

empowering

King-O’Riain, R. C. (2008). Making the Perfect Queen: The Cultural Production of Identities in

Beauty Pageants. Sociology Compass , 1.

Mbabazi, D. (2019, January 30). The New Times. Retrieved from Beauty pageants: What’s the

impact towards women’s empowerment?: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/lifestyle/beauty-

pageants-whats-impact-towards-womens-empowerment?

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