Layout by: Jhon Mark Torres
Published by: John David ViΓ±as
Date Published: March 10, 2025
Time Published: 2:29 PM
As Dante Alighieri stated, Beauty awakens the soul to act.
From faces to voices, igniting beauty inside and out. Women are always associated with beauty, fashion, and even cosmetics. Similarly, every year, women with distinct advocacies come together at a certain local place to represent their region, and aspire to be the national representative for the year’s Miss Universe. Often checking out beauty, fashion, and cosmetics associations, these women can also deliver themselves as role models, a story to tell, and even a voice to many.
An intense battle of confidently admirable women competing for one position is not for everyone. As many would believe, being a Miss Universe candidate takes a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and inspiration. It is rather a calling, not just a mere invitation or persuasion.
However, was there ever a time you thought about what makes a Miss Universe such an anticipated event, and what makes every Miss Universe contestant and winner stand out?
Though driven by beauty standards and different advocacies, every Miss Universe is united by one thing: breaking through beauty standards, redefining them, and helping the unfortunate ones. This cements the organization's general goal of being the instruments of many women’s beauty with a purpose.
With a purpose and confidence, women and the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) became united. They sought a long-time opportunity for everyone to showcase their distinct beauty, culture, and femininity, along with their stories and advocacies. They not only displayed beauty but also practiced humility and inspired everyone.
A PLATFORM OF BEAUTY AND COMPASSION
Miss Universe is an international beauty pageant that is part of a legacy upholding women’s values and empowerment. The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has long been known to society to be a prestige competition among empowered women, where self-definition is one of the most notable practices—carried out with diligence, focus, and determination.
Anticipated annually, the event stirs curiosity around what it truly means to be a Miss Universe, who leads the organization, and what its broader goals are.
Miss Universe is a competition held annually, with different countries starting the local competition during the first quarter and usually with the grand finale happening in the year's fourth quarter, where women from diverse countries with distinct stories, advocacies, and cultures come together. Early events were held in the second to third quarter of the year, but as time has progressed, so has the timing of the event. The pageant is managed by the Miss Universe Organization, a name long-renowned in the world of pageantry.
Miss Universe Organization is a leading top female brand with a mission of offering female empowerment through pageantry. With Raul Rocha Cantu as the organization’s president and Anne JakraJutatip as the Chief Executive Officer, MUO has been cemented down for decades—specifically 73 years—as a platform of beauty, compassion, and leadership.
MUO’s mission extends beyond beauty. Having their initiative as creating positive change by volunteering, fundraising, and advocacy, the Miss Universe and its organization highlights giving back to communities with the help of charitable partnerships. With their immense platform and connection, honing role models, empowered, and elegant women is made possible and a lot efficient with various opportunities awaiting and supporting this act—transforming lives, creating prosperity, and serving humanity with equality.
Since its inception in 1952, Miss Universe has built a powerful legacy, staying committed to female empowerment and compassion. Its creative approach to pageantry continues to make the competition more relevant and impactful, with each year’s event anticipating a brighter future for the women it celebrates.
WHAT MAKES A MISS UNIVERSE STAND OUT?
Amongst 4 billion women in the world, with everyone being their versions of queens and princesses, how does a Miss Universe—a aspirant and a winner—shine above everyone else?
Well, if there are factors to how a Miss Universe stands out, it’d be their stories and advocacies.
Take our very own past representative—Pia Wurtzbach—for example. Born with a fortunate life to a German father and a Filipino mother, Pia was able to start her modelling career at a raw age of 15. Winning several beauty pageants during her youthful era, Pia then decided to take on a challenge to be a Miss Universe representative of the country and was able to acquire the crown—nationally and globally—as the Miss Universe 2015. With the given platform as the reigning queen at her time, Pia focuses on her advocacy, which is gender equality. Raising awareness on several social issues like HIV and AIDS prevention, Pia has made a big impact as the Miss Universe, being an inspiration and a reminder for everyone.
However, not all beauty queens are starting their lives with a similar foot. H'Hen NiΓͺ, who is from Rade, an ethnic minority group of Vietnam, is an example of this. With an ethnic population making up only five percent of the nation’s population, there are some strict customs to preserve their culture, some of which is being able to find a husband at 14 years old. With a dream and a story to tell, H'Hen NiΓͺ shines; breaking the culture with a reason. To achieve her dreams, she also worked several jobs to make a living and continue to study. Her own experiences in gaining knowledge through education have become her advocacy later on in Miss Universe. With her platform as one of her batch’s top five, she became the ambassador for Room to Read, a global non-profit organization focused on literacy and girls’ education.
Just like a crown, these queens have been honed to heat and pressure to shine. Their stories and advocacies, along with their passion and determination, have made them befitting of the Miss Universe title—for they can conquer the struggles that come with their dreams, and can conquer, inspire, and change the universe little by little.
BEAUTY REDEFINED
As Miss Universe 2018 winner, Catriona Gray expressed, “I'm constantly trying to redefine what being a beauty queen is.”
Just like words change their meaning as time passes by, Beauty and its standards also change. From golden lotuses or small feet being the symbol of beauty in the past, to beauty being interpreted differently in the modern times, the time progresses while settling that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nonetheless, the question remains, how does the Miss Universe, a beauty pageant, redefine the standards of beauty with its influence on a wide range of audiences?
Like a fresh breath of air, the Miss Universe transcended into the barriers of progress and change, bringing in deeper inclusiveness in the competition. As a platform of beauty, compassion, and leadership, Miss Universe and its organization took it a step further by allowing different aspirants to enter the competition—from transgenders, older contestants, married women to mothers who wants to conquer the world, or rather the universe.
With Anne Jakkaphong, the Chief Executive Officer of the Miss Universe, being a transwoman herself, she opened the gates for other women to create a revolution of a more empowered and united people, with everyone respecting each others’ similarities and differences and working together to change the world with their platform.
This historic transformation in the Miss Universe just recently started. This particularly started in 2018, when Γngela Maria Ponce Camacho, Miss Spain, make history as the first transgender woman to compete on the Miss Universe stage. This sudden change shocked everyone at the time, leaving different emotions afterward. However, this leads everyone to embracing changes, not only in the Miss Universe but also for themselves.
After Miss Spain stepped towards change, MUO swiftly followed. Under Jakkaphong’s leadership, she removed restrictions on who could participate in the competition, allowing every empowered woman the opportunity to experience a surreal moment.
Though the organization adjusted late to the innovative standards of beauty, this change is a big opportunity for everyone. MUO opening the possibilities to a more inclusive perspective of beauty, not only in the beauty pageants but also to the entire society itself. This difference inspires everyone, particularly women, to prioritize their perspective of beauty, appreciating oneself, before letting anyone else dictate their standards of beauty.
As we await more successful, inclusive women to join the Miss Universe, let us remember that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This era not only encourages us to be confident with our beauty but also invites us to appreciate other people’s beauty, being united in one idea that beauty is subjective and depends on how one values themselves and others.
The Miss Universe and its evolution shows a clear road leading to a brighter, inclusive, and successful era. From breaking through the definition of beauty and applying it into their organization, their moves have been a lot more empowering, helping women celebrate diversity, strength, and purpose. With the platform given, the confidently beautiful women did not only shine with their faces, but also with their voices, advocating different programs that help many people, making these queens and aspirants a likewise symbol of empowerment to their audience. This transformation inspires us all to redefine beauty on our own, with everyone focused on embracing individuality, compassion, and resilience.
As we step on forward to another day of redefining beauty, let us remember that beauty is not one-size-fits-all. Our differences, whether from stories, appearances, and inspirations, are what make us a lot more admirable. There are many aspects of beauty, everything with a purpose is like a light that never goes out; it never dies. From making a big difference in society to inspiring a small audience, your intentions matter and will always matter.
Now, as we open a new page rewriting the description of beauty, let us remind ourselves to embrace this newly formed meaning. For beauty is seen subjectively inside and out by the beholder, we are all Miss Universe, conquering the world and the society in harmony.
REFERENCES:
[1] About. Miss Universe. (2024, December 26). https://www.missuniverse.com/about/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3JbnT9idNFX08jq0FM9RC0W5OGDOjdF_-xsX5NATyILoSQ-m2I-sc6luM_aem_bYKn4ItYiBS-Z6vFk99rRA
[2] Pia Wurtzbach miss universe 2015. Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. (n.d.). https://www.madametussauds.com/hong-kong/en/whats-inside/our-stars/hong-kong-glamour/pia-wurtzbach/
[3] Bartolome, J. (2018, December 19). Miss Universe Vietnam wins Filipinos’ hearts with inspiring story. GMA News Online. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/678748/miss-universe-vietnam-wins-filipinos-hearts-with-inspiring-story/story/
[4] Ardpruksa, S. (2023, November 8). Miss Universe’s historic transformation: Celebrating inclusivity with transgender competitors. Koktail Media. https://www.koktailmagazine.com/2023/11/08/miss-universe/
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