Issue of the day

Miss Universe vs the Myanmar junta

MYANMAR’S Miss Universe contestant Thuzar Wint Lwin has used the beauty pageant platform to speak out against the military junta in her homeland. “Our people are dying and being shot by the military every day,” she has said.

What’s the story behind this?

On February 1, Myanmar’s military seized power from the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her party. The military claimed election fraud and put the country into a state of emergency.

The move led to massive protests across the country and a brutal crackdown in response. At least 790 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Where does Myanmar’s Miss Universe fit in?

Thuzar Wint Lwin used the national costume segment of the Miss Universe contest in Florida to hold up a placard with the legend “Pray for Myanmar.” She has previously spoken out against the military junta. In March, she had called the protesters “heroes that sacrificed their lives in the fight for the freedom of our people,” on Instagram.

Was she the only one to speak out at the contest?

No. In fact, there were a number of political statements made by this year’s Miss Universe contestants. Lola de los Santos, Miss Universe Uruguay, showed support for the LGBTQ+ communities by wearing a rainbow outfit and skirt reading, “No more hate, violence, rejection, discrimination.” Meanwhile, Miss Universe Singapore, Bernadette Belle

Ong, wore an outfit which carried the message “Stop Asian Hate” in a protest against rising numbers of hate crimes against Asians.

Aren’t the protests usually against the contest?

You have a long memory. Protests against beauty contests began in the late 1960s. In 1968 the Women’s Liberation Movement staged a protest against the Miss America contest in Atlantic City, railing against what they called “the degrading Mindlessboob-girlie Symbol.” Two years later, in November 1970, the televised Miss World contest in London was interrupted by feminist protesters who flour-bombed the event, an event recreated in the film Misbehaviour starring Keira Knightley.

It was a very different time. Indeed, in 1974 the Welsh winner Helen Morgan resigned her title after reports emerged that she was, shock, horror, an unmarried mother.

Things have changed, presumably?

Yes, organisers say the contest is a chance for entrants to “advocate for humanitarian issues and be a voice to effect positive change in the world.”

Who won Miss Universe, anyway? Mexico’s Andrea Meza.