A few weeks ago, a program was aired on channel 4 about the Miss England pageants called "Beauty Queen or Bust".
It was a 3 part documentary following girls aged 16-24 who have entered their local heat for a chance to compete for the title of Miss England, and perhaps go on to compete for Miss World.
The 3 counties followed were Wolverhampton, Hull and Blackpool, three of the most deprived areas of Britain.
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| Image from channel4.com |
My initial reaction to watching the first part (Wolverhampton) was "what the hell is this?". Having entered and experienced a Miss England heat before, the way the pageant was pictured was totally foreign to me and not at all how i remembered it.
Channel 4 seemed to picture (at first) the whole pageant experience as bitchy, shallow and looks orientated. And it made me upset and angry to think that other viewers, who had no idea about pageants, were going to think this was what pageants are like. And what angered me most was the way they were following some of the girls around and only showing the parts where the behavior is below the standard of a Miss England representative.
Of course, young girls in this day and age like to go out and have fun and part with their friends, and there is nothing wrong with that, but channel 4 made it seem as though this was all these girls were doing with their lives and made it look like the pageant was their only way out, only shot at a better future.
I was shocked to see that the program made it look like the young generation today has nothing left and that a pageant was the only way to improve things. Of course, not everyone can win and channel 4 has cleverly taken advantage of this point and followed the girls who were in most need of the title to change their lives, giving the show an emotional journey through the lives of young girls in poverty.
I was shocked to see that the program made it look like the young generation today has nothing left and that a pageant was the only way to improve things. Of course, not everyone can win and channel 4 has cleverly taken advantage of this point and followed the girls who were in most need of the title to change their lives, giving the show an emotional journey through the lives of young girls in poverty.
After the initial shock of the sheer bluntness channel 4 cast over the pageant experience, i began to see past their perception of pageants and actually into what the girls were saying.
A lot of the girls who had entered the competition had come from underprivileged backgrounds. As a result, many of them were pictured as loud, boozy and disruptive when in actual fact they had big hearts. The girls just wanted to feel like they were part of something have been given a chance to improve themselves and turn their lives around, and give their loved ones something to make them proud of them (this seemed to be a running theme throughout the documentaries). Because of this, you actually got to see that these girls are in actual fact very vulnerable.
One of the girls, Jo-Ellen, who took part in the Miss Flyde Coast, really touched my heart. At 16, she was a full time carer for her mother and had been led to a life of drugs and alcohol abuse to get away from the stress of her everyday life. Throughout the documentary she constantly kept repeating that she wasn't like the other girls in the pageant, she just wanted to change her life and move away from her past. She truly was inspirational and reminded viewers of why a lot of girls enter in the first place - not because they think they are pretty or better than anyone else, but because they would like to show their loved ones and themselves that they are capable of turning their life around and possess elegance, grace and intelligence - the traits the judges look for during the competition.
Because of this, i really did start to enjoy the show, as it shows that anyone can enter and do well, no matter where they come from or what their background. It shows that Miss England is so much more than a competition to win a crown and walk around in a pretty dress, but a way for girls to gain confidence in themselves and realise their own potential. It gives the public an insight into the lives of the girls who enter, that they are real girls sometimes with real struggles, just like the rest of us.
I know I entered because i wanted to gain more confidence in myself and meet other people who were similar to me. Some people i know don't get why i would enter such a competition which at first may seem superficial and appearance obsessed. But once they understand that its not all about glitter and fake tan, but about a chance to do something different and be an ambassador for your local community as well they do start to think differently about competitions like this - and if you get to dress up and look fabulous along the way then great!
Overall I didn't like the way the show portrayed a lot of the girls to be ditzy and self-obsessed, and that they didn't mention the charity work the girls put in to raise money for Beauty with a Purpose. I also didn't like how at first they made it look like the girls motives for winning was the prize money when in actual fact it was almost always that they wanted to make a difference in themselves and in their communities.
However I loved the back stories for the girls and how it showed they were trying to change their lives, and the competition was a way of helping them on their way!
The message of the documentaries was spot on, but the way pageants were portrayed to be could have been a little more accurate!
If you watched Beauty Queen or Bust on channel 4 and have an opinion on it, id love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below or tweet me @littlegem92 !
Otherwise, you can catch it on 4oD here!
I hope you enjoyed this guys!
Love and light,
Gem x
Song of the day:
Pretty Hurts - Beyonce
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