EDITORS DESK

It’s going to be an exciting night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on May 13 for the grand coronation of Miss Universe Philippines 2023.
Three mothers — Joemay-Ann Leo, Mary Eileen Gonzalez, and Clare Dacayan — will vie for the coveted title of Miss Universe Philippines for the first time.
The winner of the beauty pageant will have the opportunity to represent the country at the 2023 Miss Universe Competition in El Salvador later this year.
Will a mother or married woman be crowned Miss Universe Philippines? We'll have to wait and see. As of now, people are still divided over the rule allowing mothers to enter the prestigious beauty contest. Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza of Mexico said that she's in favor of the new rule.
“A few people are against these changes because they always wanted to see a single, beautiful woman who is available for a relationship. They always wanted to see a woman that from the outside looks so perfect that she’s almost unreachable. The former is sexist and the latter is unrealistic,” said Andrea in an article published on nypost.com.
She added: “Just like in any other industry, women are capable of having demanding leadership positions with or without a family, it is no different in this case.”
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray believes the new rule is timely, but she thinks married women would have a hard time adjusting.
“I think it’s really time to allow women in whatever capacity to go after the dream of being a Miss Universe,” Gray said.
“However, I do see that it would be difficult for a young mother with young children to balance the responsibility, the schedule that comes with being a Miss Universe. I’ve done it for a year, and it’s a grueling schedule. It pulls you to different corners of the world, and you don’t really have a say where your schedule takes you.
“But hopefully, with that opening up of those inclusive measures at Miss Universe, they’d hopefully give either guidelines or things to protect the interests of women and allow her to be there for her family and also to fulfill her responsibilities as a Miss Universe,” Gray said.
Some argue that married women or mothers should have their own competitions. Everyone has an opinion.
Meanwhile, check out the star-studded Miss Universe Philippines competition, which will be hosted by hearthrobs Alden Richards and Xian Lim. K-pop star Nam Woo-Hyun will be performing during the finals. Other special guests include Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel; Anne Jakrajutatip of Thailand, new owner of the Miss Universe Organization; American Idol 11th season runner-up Jessica Sanchez, and Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa.
What a big surprise that the landscape of pageants is changing not only in the Philippines but all over the world. When the swimsuit portion of Miss World and Miss America pageants was removed, many pageant fans were shocked. We thought that was all there was to it, but there were still shocking decisions that followed.
Back to the Miss Universe pageant. It made history when it allowed transgender woman Angela Ponce of Spain to join the prestigious contest. Now, married women or moms are making waves in Miss Universe. What else could be next? I’m sure there are more changes, and we don’t need to be surprised in the future.
In the words of Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “the only constant is change.” *(Robert R. Requintina is the Entertainment Editor of Manila Bulletin)*