While she was not called as a semi-finalist in the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant, Trinidad and Tobago’s delegate, Faith Gillezeau, did her country proud. Most of us who followed the pageant can attest to her intelligence, beauty, jovial demeanour, and sparkling performances, especially in the National Costume segment.

The scarlet ibis portrayed on stilts by a jubilant Faith was hailed by veteran pageant bloggers as one of the best costumes and performances at the competition. Congratulations to our darling Faith who flew our flag with pride.

However, a level of uncertainty exists in the minds of many Trinbagonians as to whether the inclusion of several unconventional delegates called in the top 20 stymied Trinidad and Tobago’s chances of progressing in the competition.

Transgender business woman Anne Jakrajutatip of Thailand purchased the Miss Universe franchise in October 2022 and implemented radical changes under the guise of inclusion. These argumentative changes that applied for the 2023 pageant were as follows:

• Including married women: Since the Miss Universe pageant is supposed to showcase beautiful women, encompassing physical and inner beauty, being a wife should have no impact on this amendment and it is largely seen as a welcome initiative. Still, some tweaking to this inclusion is recommended as pageant fans may not find a delegate who is married for the third or fourth time to be a worthy candidate. Miss Colombia was the only married delegate this year and placed in the top five.

• Including mothers: This is another positive change in line with inclusion, as many mothers maintain their physical beauty after childbirth and can be worthy delegates, as was evident by Miss Colombia and the representative from Guatemala at Miss Universe 2023.

• ‘Voice for Change’ segment: This is a significant introduction that parallels Miss World’s ‘Beauty With A Purpose’ segment.

Candidates must have an advocacy or project where they are instrumental in improving some aspect of life for others who need assistance-thus aligning to humanitarianism, the object being to emphasise that the pageant industry recognises inner beauty as well as physical beauty.

• Including plus-size candidates: This topic should not be hotly debatable if we remove the clouds of emotion and deal with facts. Many people use words like plus-size, thick, overweight or plump to escape coming to terms with it. The change to allow such contestants should be rescinded; Nepal’s representative should not have made the top 20 cut at the expense of a more worthy contestant. By the same token, anorexia should also have no place in pageantry, as it may be detrimental.

• Including transgender women: There were two transgender delegates at this year’s Miss Universe pageant, from Portugal and the Netherlands. The former progressed to the semi-final or top 20 round.

Videos boldly featured Miss Portugal in her early boyhood days, citing her struggles as a young boy.

Incredible, to say the least.

A person who was born as a man and has medical changes done cannot fully conform to the true essence of being born as a woman.

While I sympathise with these folks whose mindset is not in sync with their physical bodies to the point where they seek to change their appearance, it is an anomaly that should not be a part of Miss Universe.

Let’s consider a paraplegic man with an affinity for sports. Being unable to use his legs, we would not expect this man to run a race with conventional athletes. So, we have Special Olympics and other events specific to people with physical limitations. So, too, should transgender women be directed to a transgender pageant. Including transgender women in female beauty pageants appears misguided and Miss Portugal should have been replaced as a semi-finalist.

• Religious/anomalous beliefs and customs: During the swimwear segment of the Miss Universe presentation show where semi-finalists are decided, the contestant from Pakistan graced the stage with what can be described as a queen-sized bed sheet. Her body was totally covered. It bears repeating that this was the swimwear category, and all other contestants wore one- or two-piece swimsuits. Yet by some miracle, Miss Pakistan made it to the semi-final round. It appears that only the judges were afforded X-ray vision when it came to Miss Pakistan. This amazing inclusion in the semi-finals should have been replaced by a more conventional candidate.

No doubt, Ms Jakrajutatip is seeking to revolutionise the Miss Universe brand by making it possible for women of more varied backgrounds and statuses to enter the pageant.

As detailed above, some of her initiatives are commendable, while others seem geared to inadvertently rob more deserving delegates of progressing, and favouring the unconventional paradigm. Time will tell if this new wave of inclusion leads to confusion.

Jason Valsint
Mt Lambert