ASPECT No. 52
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The disease of our gracious nation ‘Princess syndrome’, low self-esteem, poor body image, how perfect is the pageant industry? Body image and pageants go hand in hand and for an industry that prides itself on finding the ‘perfect woman’ you have to sit back and question is it all as positive as it looks? Fashion and beauty is potentially one of the worlds most non-diverse industries, and pageants demand full versatility from their contestants and the pressures and expectations placed on the shoulders of these young women would be nerve racking to even the most confident girl. “Athletic but not manly, talented but not arrogant, glamorous but down to earth, well mannered and gracious but with strong opinions and a loud voice” the list of demands goes on and on according to Miss Newcastle 2015 winner and Miss England 2016 runner up Victoria Turner. Currently living, studying and working in Newcastle upon Tyne, Victoria Turner prepares to tell us the ins and outs of pageant life. The highs, the lows and what it takes both mentally and physically to succeed in such a celebrated industry. After being catapulted into the pageantry industry just two years ago, her career has sky rocketed to the point were even she “literally can’t believe it”, and has resulted in her booking gigs at London Fashion Week two years in a row, as well as building up an extensive portfolio containing quite an eclectic range of images showcasing just how versatile this twenty one year old actually is. “Through winning Miss Newcastle I gained a modeling contract with Tyne Tees Models and I’ve booked some amazing jobs and had some even more amazing opportunities”. Victoria has modeled for the likes of Barbour, Holler Watches, Metro Centre and many more, as well as having casting opportunities in Milan but this doesn’t mean the doubts that we all have regarding the way we look don’t shine through at some point or another. “I think through it all though I'll always compare myself to other girls but your look may get you one title but not another, it's all down to the competition really! With Miss England they told me not to put weight on, they said you don't need to lose it but don't put it on. I think if you're conscious of something like that it could be dangerous for people who aren't strong minded but I just shrugged it off as I'm happy in myself.”
“I
was told I wasn’t ‘anything special’ and ‘how on earth did I get to the final twelve’ it's hard, putting myself in that environment I knew I’d have to toughen up and take things on the chin but mentally it was so difficult.” Victoria Turner
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With the good also comes the bad and after all, perfection is a disease that not only our nation but the rest of the world crave and strive towards particularly when it comes to beauty pageants. A Miss England potential has to be “a talented sporty photogenic charitable female who has modeling potential to represent the nation on a world stage” according to the competitions official website, they’re not asking for much right? With the Miss Regionals being crowned over the coming months the general public and industry professionals alike, are having a feeding frenzy through the form of social media critiquing contestants and singing the praises of their favourites, something which Victoria is no stranger to. “When I was in Miss Newcastle and got to the final twelve the coverage on social media was massive, which was great when I wanted my message to be heard and my face to be seen, but in all honesty there was a lot more nasty comments than there were positive. I was told I wasn’t ‘anything special’ and ‘how on earth did I get to the final twelve’ its hard, putting myself in that environment I knew I’d have to toughen up and take things on the chin but mentally it was difficult.” Victoria was also told to vet her social media completely as this would play a vital role in getting her a good score in the ‘Social Media’ round. Who knew that in order to be the ‘perfect woman’ with the ‘perfect image’ you weren’t allowed to be a ‘party girl’ or be seen not looking your best? “Its become a lifestyle for me I’m constantly ‘pageant ready’ a call for an appearance or a shoot could come very last minute and it wouldn’t go down very well if my hair wasn’t fresh or I had patchy tan!”
“ I always thought I was too big to enter
pageants when I was in secondary school as I was a size 10 and curvier. Now being smaller though and having grown height wise I felt like I could fit in more with the industry. ” Victoria Turner
When it comes down to the behavior and how a Pageant Queen should portray herself there are a few rules… 1. ALWAYS use your P&Q’s. 2. Stay in shape and look after yourself, you are a role model at the end of the day. 3.Watch how you behave. Your actions will affect how much you are respected and you don’t want to disgrace the title. You have to look and ask what is it these pageants are wanting from women? They want individuality and a strong head on a gorgeous pair of shoulders with strong, committed opinions, but only when these opinions match that of the decade old founders of such competitions. Its clear that they’re not specifically looking at body image alone, they are still viewing the beauty ideal as a whole. Perceiving women as needing to have an overall perfect persona to match that perfect face when in all reality no one is that perfect. In the last year there has been a lot more publicity surrounding pageants and their outrageous expectations of women stemming from Miss GB’s, Zara Holland’s sordid rendezvous on last summers ‘Love Island’. She was used as a poster girl for ‘how not to be a pageant queen’ and was made an example of by the Miss Great Britain board when a night in the hit shows ‘Hideaway’ got a little bit too steamy for their liking. Resulting in the nation seeing a bit too much. Zara was stripped of her crown and had her title revoked because Miss Great Britain “cannot promote Zara as a positive role model” the organisation told the Daily Mail. Why in this day and age is it still so prevalent to body shame and drill the idea into young girls heads that you have to look and act a certain way in order to succeed? Times are slowly changing and the pageant industry needs to step into the 21st century leaving behind its traditional, historic views and expectations because after all isn’t there more to being a beautiful individual than just conforming to society’s norms?
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FIT IS FEMININE
WOMEN WHO INSPIRE. STRONGER IS BETTER–
IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD .
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“For me, exercise is more than just physical – it’s therapeutic.” Michelle Obama
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.� Roseanne Barr
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“Don’t work out because you think you ‘need’ to. Do it because your body deserves love, respect, and healthy attention” Demi Lovato
“I’m never going to starve myself for a part. That’s something I’m really conscious of during training, I’m trying to get my body to look fit and strong, not thin and underfed.” Jennifer Lawrence
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