Pageant season gearing up

by Jill Thompson

As pageant season is gearing up, some Windsorites have a front row seat to the world’s biggest shows.

Worldwide, people have conflicting opinions about beauty pageants.  Feminist groups often protest them because they say they feel pageants are degrading to women.  That’s not the opinion of Fabricio Loza-Alvarado.

Loza-Alvarado, 35, began training beauty pageant contestants in his backyard in South Walkerville in 2003. He would train girls on everything from how to walk the runway, to choosing the right gown and answering difficult questions on stage. Leanne Cecile, the sixth-runner-up of Miss Universe that year had been trained for that pageant by Loza-Alvarado. He said because of that success he has become the national production director and assistant producer of the Miss Universe Pageant.

“I love that I didn’t have to move to Toronto to be recognized for my talent. I did it in my own backyard which showed me that I had the potential and for that I am proud,” said Loza Alvarado.

He said training for a pageant is like training for any Olympic sport.  The contestants must know about the current issues affecting the world besides having the perfect walk, gown, make-up and hair-do.  He said a pageant can be a platform for women to have a voice.

“Watch what these women do for a cause.  It is very touching to see what Miss Canada does to motivate people through her charity work.  Holding a pageant title is very powerful in that you can use your voice to fight for the causes you believe in,” said Loza-Alvarado.

Winning a title can open numerous doors for a woman.  She gets invited to red-carpet events, meets dignitaries and travels the globe.  However, losing can be devastating.

Tessa Johnston, 16, is just starting out in pageants and had her first taste of what it means to lose when she didn’t place in the Miss Teen Ontario pageant in 2011.  Although she says she learned a lot from the experience, she says it was heartbreaking.

“I was really sad and let down because I thought I did so well and really gave it my all I cried for two hours after the contest was done,” she said.

Although Johnston says she is more of an athlete than a pageant girl, she said she still believes these competitions are not just about being pretty.

“You do need to be good looking but you also need to have maximum confidence and good speaking ability.  You need to be able to convince the judges that you have better poise and are better than anyone else.  This comes with how you walk and present yourself,” said Johnston.

Some Windsorites think differently about pageants.  Raquel Burke, 33, boxes and plays basketball and says she’s no feminist but is not a huge fan of pageants.

“Pageants come across as a ‘pretty award’ with women walking around in evening gowns and swimsuits.  They also never let you know the real work some of these women do,” said Burke.

“…. these women are very intelligent, and they do a lot of charity work and I feel like they don’t get the credit that they deserve. Most people remember what swimsuit the top five were wearing, or the answer they gave at the end but I bet most viewers have no idea the charities she donates to, the speeches she gives to empower women, or the volunteer hours she clocks,” said Burke.

Burke is not alone in her sentiments. In 1970 the Miss World pageant held in England was marred by an attack of stink, smoke and fire bombs from a group of feminists.  In 1996 an Indian man set himself on fire and died outside the Miss World pageant held in Bangalore.  To this day there are a number of anti-pageant sites on Facebook.

Mila Rudic, 27, of Windsor is enrolled in feminist studies at the University of Windsor. She said although she doesn’t agree with flour-bombing pageants, she does not like these competitions.

“I don’t see how beauty pageants are meant to advance women. I see them as being one of the reasons that prevent our equality amongst men due to the fact that they are based on superficial demands of a certain society,” said Rudic.

It wasn’t until 1980 that the organizers of the Miss World pageants decided to include personality and intelligence and dropped the recital of vital statistics. That inclusion pleased Jaclyn Miles, a 24-year-old Windsor woman who decided to enter the Miss Canada pageant only after learning that intelligence and personality were included.

“I want to be a teacher. You can’t be a teacher with pictures of yourself on Facebook in a bikini with drinks in your hand,” said Miles.

Miles has Honours degrees in French and family studies from the University of Windsor and Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario.  She is also the reigning Miss Canada 2012.
Miles says the women she competed with in Miss Canada were both intelligent and educated. Still she wishes Canadians had a better perspective regarding pageants.

“Being a beauty queen can sometimes act against someone in Canada,” said Miles.   “Canadians often associate models with pageant queens, if you’re a beauty queen sometimes people will often write you off as a bimbo.  When I found out that Miss Canada was a professional and personality-based competition I knew it was something I would be interested in.”

Miles says she began competing in pageants to boost her self-esteem.  She said she needed this extra boost because she had been a victim of domestic violence and found she gained a lot of confidence from taking part in pageants.  She uses her current title as a platform to promote Break the Silence, a campaign aimed at fighting bullying and domestic abuse.  Miles will spend her year as Miss Canada going to schools and other groups educating them against violence and encouraging them to speak up if they are being abused.

“It’s nice to work for an organization that looks at personality like Miss Canada,” said Miles.  “I wish Canadians would look past the crown and more at the woman wearing it.”

Miles said winning a pageant does not simply require a gown and heels.

“To enter these pageants you need a clear idea of the direction you want to take and a strong sense of integrity, values and conviction,” she said.

The 2012 Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live on NBC from Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Dec. 19. Last year over one billion viewers tuned in to watch the ceremony.