Miss Germany defies wave of online hatred
BERLIN: As a mother who is almost 40 and who was born in Iran, the new Miss Germany Apameh Schoenauer stood out at the beauty pageant.
But those traits also exposed her to a wave of online abuse.
“I knew I would get a bit of blowback, but not like this,” Schoenauer, 39, said.
Many of the hateful messages aimed at her over her looks and ethnicity ater her coronation in February were “superficial,” she said.
But it was also her unconventional profile that drove her to sign up for the contest.
“I took part in Miss Germany because I wanted to change something,” said Schoenauer, an architect and mother of a toddler, who moved to Germany aged six.
It was ater the birth of her daughter that Schoenauer decided she wanted to do something to be more of a “role model” for young girls.
Schoenauer’s own roots were a source of inspiration.
The images of “strong Iranian women, taking to the streets every day to fight for their freedom” ater the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 moved her to do something, Schoenauer said.
Besides being an architect, Schoenauer is the founder of the Shirzan network - “lion woman” - which campaigns for women’s rights.
Most Iranians, she said, were “proud” to see her crowned Miss Germany.
“They gain hope from the fact that, as an Iranian woman, you can make a difference in a different country where you grew up and have lived for more than 30 years.”
Since being overhauled in 2019, the Miss Germany pageant is less about waist measurements and looks, and more about the character and achievements of the contestants.
The most recent edition of the competition, which is not linked to the Miss Universe contest, also lited the upper age limit, opening up to older women.
The angry response online to Schoenauer’s coronation showed that her campaign “could not be more important than it is right now.”
Atacking her for the way she looks or her background was “very sad,” Schoenauer said.
“If they have the courage, they should sit down at a table and talk to me constructively,” she said.
“But when someone hides behind their screen, behind an anonymous name... I don’t waste my energy on this.”