In pageants, you are evaluated from head to toe and it's obviously all about looks, and as vain as that is, they can also bring you lots of opportunities to do amazing things.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
If you're comfortable with yourself, then you'll look beautiful. If you're not feeling comfortable with yourself, than that kind of shows. I think that as cheesy as the pageant industry can be seen at times, it actually does help women - boosting their confidence and growing into their own. I have to give it credit for that.
I think that, if anything, the pageant is great for people who suffer from body issues. It's all about being comfortable with what you're given and what you have and being able to flaunt it without being insecure. It's about empowering women, not making them feel weak or less.
I must be very clear in one thing... Being a pageant girl is not who I am or what defines me.
The Miss America Pageant reinforces a belief that women are merely how they look and how they please.
Pageants were a platform for me, and they helped me get to where I am today. You suddenly stop being just another girl, and people want to listen to what you have to say.
Competing in pageants made me hyper-aware of the unfair expectations society places on women in terms of youth and beauty. But it also gave me empathy for women who use beauty as a creative exploration. When expressed healthfully, dressing up, doing hair, crafting makeup, etc., is an art form.
Pageant makeup is so different from your day-to-day look. When you're on stage you really have to pack it on.
I wasn't the typical pageant girl - I was a little more nerdy, and they gave me a voice. I created the Queen of the Universe pageant, which is charity-based, to benefit UNESCO. For me, the most important thing is that contestants have a charity-based platform or charity ambition.
I was in a modeling contest when I was 16. People don't think it's different, modeling versus beauty pageants, but it is. As a model, you're still an individual. When you are crowned a Miss, you are representative of a lot.
Pageants were an amazing platform that gave a little girl like me from the mountains of my beautiful Puerto Rico a chance to travel, explore the world, meet amazing people, work for great charities and be a voice to empower women wherever I went. For all those things, I am grateful.
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