Miss Universe: Relevant or Retired?
Graphic by Quynh-Nhi Tran.
For those well versed in pageant history, January 14 was an international holiday. For the unaware, the 71st Miss Universe competition occurred that day. Held in New Orleans, La., the competition crowned R'Bonney Gabriel, Miss USA, as this year’s winner.
Gabriel’s win is well deserved. Her work as a sewing instructor facilitates environmentally friendly fashion through recycling used materials. According to her Miss Universe profile, she also works with survivors of trafficking and domestic abuse by offering free sewing classes.
The competition is most famous for the creative, wonderful, and oftentimes ridiculous outfits that the competitors wear. However, more important than the clothes is the question of what place Miss Universe has in the modern era.
Initially created as a response to the Miss America contest, Miss Universe has had harsh rules for its participants since the very beginning. Contestants have to be between the ages of 18 and 28, unmarried and childless. The official reasoning for these rules is the demanding nature of the contest, but it isn’t coincidental that being young, single and “un-motherly” are the pageant’s guidelines for being desirable. It also isn’t coincidental that many women in the public eye who don’t possess these qualities are seen as less worthy of their idealized femininity. They start being aged out of movies, criticized for speaking about “taboo” topics, and are generally seen as unworthy of their womanhood because they are no longer conventionally desirable.
The competition hasn’t aged much better, either. Although competitors are supposed to be judged on beauty, intelligence and poise, a former judge revealed to Forbes that it was just “Beauty, beauty, beauty.” While many of the contestants are talented, positive role models who should be looked up to, their value is mainly derived from their measurements and facial structure.
However, I’m not fully supportive of writing off the idea of Miss Universe completely. My younger self grew up glued to the TV, absorbing every inch of the stunning outfits shown during the National Costumes segment, which is prior to the competition itself. As I grew, I also realized that some, not all, of these dresses held incredibly powerful cultural significance. It is extremely important seeing your ethnic background represented as beautiful on a world stage.
Miss Universe as a competition of commercially perfect bodies has no place in 2023. Miss Universe as a showcase of diverse, accomplished women proudly representing their home countries is something that 8-year-old me would be incredibly excited to watch.
And with that, here are my favorite looks from the 2022 Miss Universe season.
