Beyond the crown: Could beauty pageants be feminist?

It's hard to find a self-proclaimed and self-respecting feminist who likes beauty pageants — or at least, who likes it without guilt.

But beauty queen Mary Anne Bianca Guidotti takes on the issue head on.

"They say pageants undermine feminism. But it actually makes girls feel like women who can be seen," said Guidotti, who spoke at an Alternative Classroom Experience (ACLE) organized by the Geographic Society of the University of the Philippines (GSUP).

Walking the stage in a bikini, the Binibining Pilipinas International 2014 spoke candidly about her experience in a beauty contest.

Unlike Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Guidotti didn't grow up dreaming of winning or even joining beauty pageants. She was the odd Asian kid in Brazil and her exposure to a different culture, plus the welcome she received in the Philippines when she returned, inspired her to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and become a diplomat.

Guidotti's grandmother worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and for a while, that was the path she tried to clear for herself. She took International Relations with a major in European Studies at Ateneo De Manila University, determined to realize her vision.

Taking the university's "men and women for others" mantra to heart, Guidotti joined Community and Family Relations International, a humanitarian organization that focuses on "uprooted" individuals. The experience opened her eyes to the terrible plight of refugees, the harsh conditions people live through after natural calamities strike, and the spirit of a volunteer.

"'Yung mga volunteers, they are in the same income bracket as the people they are trying to help," she told the attendees of the ACLE, her voice shaking with nervousness.

"But this (volunteer work) is what they want to do with their life."

Guidotti shares their passion, so when someone suggested she join Binibining Pilipinas, she blurted out, "Mga beauty queen, ‘di ba nag-a-artista lang ‘yun? Ano ba ‘yung ginagawa ng mga ‘yun?"

Many other share that opinion: beauty pageants are for pretty girls to be pretty and rarely do people associate the crown with anything else.

Aces and Faces pageant coach Bessie Besana, who helped prepare Guidotti for the competition, pitched in with a helpful thought, "We Filipinos like looking at beautiful people. Kapag maganda o gwapo, nakikinig tayo."

It's not just Filipinos, of course. Lookism is a real thing. Early Disney works, for example, featured pristine princesses and villains like Ursula, who was modeled after a drag queen. Because drag queens look like villains? Yikes.

"What is beautiful is good" is a real stereotype and going for "the pretty one" remains an issue in society.

But Guidotti, realizing her position, chose to use this to her advantage. Aside from being an avenue to elevate social and economic status, there are candidates like Guidotti who see Binibining Pilipinas as a platform for an advocacy. If Helen of Troy can start wars, perhaps a truly beautiful woman can also bring — wait for it — world peace.

The Miss Universe pageant and all of the other competitions where women are judged based on their face, waist, and abs may seem distasteful, but on the right head, perhaps the crown could be a powerful tool.

"It depends on the contestant," Jonas Gaffud of Mercator Artist and Model Management Inc. said when asked to describe the relationship between feminism and beauty pageants.

"Syempre meron naghahanap lang talaga ng DOM pagkatapos ng korona. It depends on the person."

It's unclear if Gaffud meant to make a larger statement, but the use of the word "person" is important. When criticizing the industry, it's easy to forget that the women wearing the sash are human beings. Of their own volition, they opened themselves to judgement based on physical attributes.

Besana quips, "Kapag sumali ka naman sa beauty pageant, hindi ka pinilit."

It's a little more complex than that. You could consent to something, but only because your options are limited. This is sadly the case for a lot of people, not just women.

Some are saddened, if not infuriated, that there are avenues where women can improve their status — if they wear a bikini.

And even without meaning to, pageants continue to turn people who are not a certain height and weight invisible. The pretty ones seem to get all the luck, not to mention the New York apartment and all the designer clothes they wish to wear.

What about the short, chubby girls? Well, we have the rest of the world... the universe, rather. Our work is cut out for us — if fighting sexism and other forms of oppression leads to abs, we'd have a 12-pack or more. But at least we don't have to do it in heels. And it feels good to achieve more than just a small waistline and a perfect smile.

Maybe the statuesque ladies can have this stage. It may seem like a big one, but it remains infinitely small relative to the vastness of what is truly out there.

And on this planet where truly terrible things happen (to women, in particular), if there's a pageant that can bring tremendous joy to a marginalized sector — is there a group more loyal to pageants than gays? — perhaps it's best to let the glitter do its work. Instead of pouring all our effort into convincing women that they are exploited, maybe we can lend an ear and listen to what they are saying.

Maybe they're not being exploited. Maybe it's the world that is captivated by them. —JST, GMA News