... Then we asked other individuals how they felt about the competitions

I think that beauty pageants in Jamaica are wonderful. We all are beautiful.

I think that it is a good way to get exposure for girls. It showcases the talent and helps to find a good representative for the country in the long run.

I believe that we should be promoting Jamaican beauty all around. Never really watched, to be honest, but I do think that Jamaica has a lot to offer in that and we have competed over the world. Yes, and I like beautiful women.

I think that beauty pageants are a wonderful thing for women. I think they help to boost self-confidence. It helps intelligent women get the word out into the world that we are confident, that we are strong women and we can empower ourselves to do whatever we want to do. And all I want is world peace.

I think that it is very biased. I do not think that it is good for society on a whole. It does nothing but to highlight pretty girls with pretty bodies. I have never seen a fat girl enter the competition before and win. There is a stigma attached to it, as in you have to have a good background and you have to be doing charity. So if you are not really nice, you try and be nice for a year or so.

I guess they are OK. They mostly give an experience, that’s all. I don’t think it’s fair because you are kind of grading everyone. People start to feel like they are being compared because I have been in a pageant before and at the end of it all, I felt it was self-degrading. I was putting myself up against other girls and competing to say who is better at this and that. For the person that wins it is good, but for everyone else, it’s like “why did I get myself into this?”