Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

How beauty pageants have changed in the past decade

- THOBILE MAZIBUKO thobile.mazibuko@inl.co.za

TONIGHT, one lucky woman will go to bed as Miss South Africa 2021, taking over from the current titleholde­r, Shudufhadz­o Musida.

Miss SA 2021 will be crowned at the Grand Arena, GrandWest in Cape Town. The event will be screened live from 5pm on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) and will also be streamed online for an internatio­nal audience on MissSA.live with extra highlights and exclusive content.

Musida’s reign will go down in history. Crowned during a global pandemic, she resorted to finding ways to use social media to further the cause she was advocating for mental health.

And yet, even with the challenges the pandemic posed during her reign, she accomplish­ed things that some of her predecesso­rs did not have the opportunit­y to do.

Her reign was symbolic, in that she signalled just how much the world of beauty pageants has changed. Pageants are no longer just for the tallest, thinnest and most modelesque woman, with the longest hair.

When Zozibini Tunzi, a woman with short, natural Afro hair, won Miss SA 2019 and later Miss Universe, she made history. She inspired not only many women, but little black girls who saw that it’s possible for a person who looks like them to be a beauty queen.

In the past, dark-skinned girls were seen as less beautiful, especially if they didn’t have long, straight hair. Tunzi proved that every woman is beautiful irrespecti­ve of skin colour, hair texture, and body size.

Musida took it to another level when she won Miss SA 2020. The baldheaded beauty is not like the models we used to see in magazines when we were young. She has curves, is darkerskin­ned and is extremely beautiful.

The current beauty pageants have shown us that it’s not all about beauty but ensuring that all women are represente­d.

And it’s something that’s happening globally as other countries follow the model that has made South Africa a success at global pageants in recent years. “I think as an organisati­on, we have started a journey towards showing beauty in diversity and that beauty is completely subjective and that all women should be celebrated,” says Werner Wessels, a pageant coach who successful­ly coached Rolene Strauss, who won Miss World in 2014, and Demi-Leigh Nel Peters, who won Miss Universe in 2017 and Tunzi in 2019. He is now the creative director of Miss South Africa.

“Miss South Africa has done an incredible job in showcasing these women and helping them to find their voices and the things that they are passionate about. And try to make a difference in the world.”

Before the 2019 Miss Universe pageant, held in Atlanta, Tunzi’s advisers didn’t have much faith in her choosing to wear her hair in its natural state and suggested that she get a wig.

And yet, the Tsolo-born star was adamant in walking the stage with her afro hair. And it paid off because she became the first Miss Universe with afro-textured hair. It’s a decision that Wessels is proud of.

“We wanted to show the world that there are different standards of beauty and that South African women are not one-size-fits-all,” says Wessels.

Also, most beauty pageant titleholde­rs aren’t just about showcasing their beauty anymore. These are women of substance who use their influence to tackle issues faced by women and children around the world.

For example, Musida wrote a children’s book: Shudu Finds Her Magic, aimed at helping children with issues like bullying and depression.

Many children face bullying at schools, and as a person who experience­d it first-hand, Musida is doing well by helping other kids in similar situations.

 ?? Miss South Africa Organisati­on ?? SHUDUFHADZ­O Musida will hand over the crown to one of the 10 women behind her. |
Miss South Africa Organisati­on SHUDUFHADZ­O Musida will hand over the crown to one of the 10 women behind her. |

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