Turns out, being a beauty queen is not the height of beauty.
Even after you walk down that runway, and even after you have that pageant crown placed upon your carefully blow-dried hair, you’re still not enough. Ugh.
That is the story of Zoiey Smale, who was crowned as Miss United Continents in June. Just after she won, the 28-year-old was asked to lose all the weight she could.
You see, apparently, a size 10 was too big.
Despite that being a completely normal, healthy size… a 10 was too big for the pageant organisers.
Smale could have submitted to their requests; stopped eating, drastic dieting. Instead, she has now gone public with her decision to hand back the crown.
In a recent Facebook post, the mother-of-one announced her refusal of the prize, in defiance of the industry standards.
“You eat less, parade around in a bikini for a few days and sit at the arm of a man over dinner whilst pushing an olive around a plate…,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I was branded ‘fat’ because I am size 10. I actually believed that I was so disgusting that no one would ever love me. How sad is that?
“After being asked to lose weight and go on a diet plan for an international competition, I have withdrawn. Some of you may think this is cowardly, however I don’t think it is the right to have my face representing a pageant ethos I do not believe in. I will be handing back my crown and wish the new title holder the very best of luck.”
Listen to our interview with a mum who went from working on the farm to winning pageants. (Post continues after audio.)
For Smale, that’s not the end of her story. Just because she’s handing back the crown doesn’t mean she’s handing back her voice.
“I love me and will not change for anyone. My body has carried me through my 20+ years of being on this earth, allowed me to have a career I am very proud of, carry a child and the best thing of all, my body has never given up on me,” she wrote in her post.
“If a pageant doesn’t want to utilise my capabilities because I am a size 10 then it’s their loss.”
Speaking to the Mail Online, Smale has said that her journey has only begun, now using her platform to raise awareness for what she calls “rogue” beauty contests.
Instead of letting size 10+ women be hidden in the dark or told to wear sarongs during the swimwear rounds, Smale is going to bring them into the limelight.
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