EDITORS DESK
ROBERT REQUINTINA
Long live the queens! The beauty queens, rather!
Beauty pageants have become a national obsession in the Philippines. There are beauty contests everywhere and there's a pageant for everyone: kids, grandmas, sales ladies, and even pets. Soon, the country became a powerhouse in pageantry following the stellar performances of Filipino candidates in competitions abroad.
Did you know that some pageants in the country were still active at the height of the pandemic? The events were held online and that didn't stop Pinoy pageant fans from cheering for their favorite candidates despite the presence of Covid-19.
Now that the country has reopened after the pandemic, the love of Pinoy fans for pageants remains strong. Training in beauty pageant camps resumed while girls checked out the best pageants in town.
Prizes such as tiara and sashes stay but pageants continue to evolve. Since 2014, we’ve seen another wave of changes on the international pageant stage.
In 2014, the Miss World beauty pageant – considered the longest-running beauty contest in history which started in 1951 – finally eliminated the swimsuit portion. Instead, the girls focus on “beauty with a purpose” competition which center on charity work.
Then in 2018, rival pageant Miss Universe welcomed its first transgender woman candidate Angela Ponce of Spain, during the annual pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ponce did not place in the contest but she earned the respect of her peers and pageant fans around the world.
A year later, Miss Universe celebrated its first openly gay contestant Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar in Atlanta, Georgia.
This year, Miss Universe announced its biggest update: married women and moms with kids can now join the most prestigious beauty pageant effective 2023.
At present, the rule states that only single women aged 18 to 28, who have never been married nor had children, can become Miss Universe.
Anne Jakrajutatip, the world’s third-richest transgender person according to Forbes, is the new owner of the Miss Universe Organization. And under her term, the popular pageant will continue to evolve, she said.
“We are incredibly honored to be acquiring The Miss Universe Organization and working with its visionary leadership team. The global reach of the organization, its relationships with global partners and brands, and its wealth of content, licensing, and merchandising opportunities make this a strong, strategic addition to our portfolio. We seek not only to continue its legacy of providing a platform to passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions, but also to evolve the brand for the next generation,” said Anne, chief executive officer of JKN Global Group, when she acquired MUO for US$20 million.
Opinions are still divided over the relevance of beauty contests. For the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI), it will continue to upgrade its contest in tune with the times.
“I can only speak for Binibining Pilipinas. We’re here and we’re navigating through high and lows but we are committed to upgrade the pageant, its style and quality each year. To us it's still relevant. It’s the same commitment we have today since we started in the 1960s. Times have changed. Our audience has changed. The qualities of contestants changed. Now it’s advocacy driven. Beauty and advocacy intersect. So we will continue to do it and produce quality beauty pageants. Because of how we are interconnected, times have changed and we have to roll with the technology as well,” said Gines Enriquez, head of BPCI and spokesperson.
Trends come and go but pageants are here to stay.
(Robert R. Requintina is the Entertainment Editor of Manila Bulletin)