Are Beauty Pageants Still Relevant and Play a Role in Motivating the Young Generation?

I strongly believe that human beings, as anything, have and need a platform as a medium to convey their voice in order to empower and benefit more people. The capacity to make choices is closely related to ability and willingness. Beauty pageants are one of the platforms that some people, men and women, choose and aim for.

More than just the beauty of the body and the beauty of the face, the most prestigious beauty contests emphasize advocacy, leadership, and intellectual contestants. As evidenced by the holding of speech sessions, deep interviews, questions and answers, and keynote speeches on general knowledge in various fields; politics, education, health, humanitarian issues, empowerment, tourism, environment, and so on.

Beauty pageants specifically for women, for example. It has been some time since the controversial swimsuit session along with the feminism movement and the push for gender equality was eliminated and replaced with a sportswear session or completely abolished altogether. The exploitation of the body is rampant and has been perpetuated by beauty pageants for generations, perpetuating the notion that the body is number one and the brain is unnecessary.

In fact, more than that, women who stand on stage, bring advocacy and voice good campaigns to invite, motivate, and inspire young people to dare to dream and start are really igniting the confidence and enthusiasm that exists in other women. That despite the stigma and judgment of what is appropriate and what is not, women can still act and fight, have a stand, be strong and agile.

Beauty pageants should be safe, independent platforms that uphold moral values. To remain relevant to the times while keeping in mind the needs of the younger generation, it is imperative that setbacks in the system, and rules that are detrimental and not fully in favor of women are abolished.

Beauty pageants should focus on empowering the younger generation, be inclusive, so that they can be filled with usefulness, participate in building the possibility of a brighter future with real action.

Beauty is about depth of mind, how a throne holder is able to become a role model as well as an icon of inner and outer beauty, intelligence, broad insight, beauty of speech, adaptive, sympathetic, and dashing.

It's been a long time since old-fashioned beauty standards were broken by beauty pageants itself. This proves that beauty pageants actually have the power to impact goodness, saving the younger generation from judging themselves.

Everyone should be heard, given time, given equal opportunities to prove that they are capable of realizing noble ideals; raising awareness about how important it is to be serious about the future.

Because being beautiful is not enough. The world is waiting for your breakthrough.

The world is waiting for you.

Signed,

Beauty pageant observer & connoisseur

Siti Sonia Aseka