Empowering Modernity: Showing the Different Wings of Beauty
by Dhessiel Heart R. Macapagal
A beauty pageant does not only give a stage for a woman to show off her beautiful face or appealing curves, but it also projects the intelligence, potentials, and empowerment that these young ladies hold. It is the real essence of displaying a woman’s intellectual and rational capabilities.
Through this competition, the candidates have had the chance to encourage other women, regardless of their age, to embrace the identity, traits, and character of being a woman. Yet in the history, this event follows specific requirements to fit in the so-called bubble of beauty standard.
Even so, have you ever wondered the real essence of a beauty pageant? Have these contests became a measurement of beauty in society’s standard or did they help in promoting women’s self-love and self-support?
Gatekept Wings: The beauty inside a bottle
In the early times of the pageant, it is common in this competition that there will be dazzling gowns and sparkling crowns, where the room is full of beautiful women gathered on the stage while introducing themselves with their name, age, and place they represent. They would then walk away normally with a banner and flowers.
Judges will score all the contestants based on their physique and cosmetic beautifying technique. And over the years, the competition inherited talent and interviews as portions of the competition but was still perceived as ‘beauty pageants’ up until the last couple of decades.
The competition bases its criteria on the outside beauty; thus, judges look to decide on winners based on their standout qualities.
Yet even with the almost perfect set of rules and standards, beauty pageants closed their doors by limiting women in terms of their age, sex, height, and civil status. They do not accept candidates who are not fit. They continued to gatekeep the wings of every potential beauty queen, and let their beauty be confined inside the bottle.
Embracing Kaleidoscope: Reshaping the modern beauty
Undeniably, the point of pageants shifted over time from exterior credentials to talent and intellect. They were able to adapt to the changes in modern society, such as being lenient to specific rules and guidelines.
Pageants evolved over time from their original purpose of showcasing the physical beauty of a woman. They started to look out for the different values from the candidates’ substantial answers and their beneficial advocacies.
The community has welcomed these long-overdue changes compatible with society’s evolution as everyone looks forward to continually evolving and improving ideals of inner instead of outer beauty. One’s character and personal success not only in pageants but in the world as a whole.
The competition also empowers the bigger picture by allowing transwomen to join the competition. One notable beauty queen is Ms. Angela Ponce, who won Miss Universe Spain 2018, gaining the entitlement of being the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe with full support and acceptance.
This circumstance truly shows that society is ready to embrace all butterflies flying with their colors, whether it is rainbow, black, or plain pink.
Besides, at the end of the day, women must remember that the new idea of beauty, the one that comes from within, is one that allows them to empower themselves and others.
What has really changed the most in the field was the emphasis on inner self-confidence and fostering empowerment to yourself. It becomes the key to winning, not only on stage but also in life.
With the change in beauty definitions, pageants constantly change what they value, and the media displays that these improvements convey a message to the outside world.













