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The Beauty behind Social Causes

by Luis Cano, SPP Alumni (MPA’15) communications consultant – Miss International Hungary Organization

International programs to prevent teenage pregnancy failed to reach most of the society along with many others promoting social welfare and human rights. However, media coverage of many social issues   increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. The change relies on social media campaigns using celebrities, including beauty queens, as their spokespersons. Thanks to them, society is becoming more aware of the problems. Beauty queens and media personalities have a power to promote social policies just as politicians and policy makers in some countries with visible social inequality. It is our chance to use pageants as platforms for social causes and empowerment of women.

Some causes promoted by celebrities and beauty queens are more successful than those promoted by politicians or policy makers. To continue using the teenage pregnancy example, in 2011 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that out of 1000 pregnant women, 100 were under 19 years old. By 2015 UNICEF reported that these numbers remained similar with a slight decrease. These campaigns had media advertisements and usually display numbers and a list of consequences. Somewhere in Geneva or Vienna a group of researchers thought it was a good idea to prevent teenage pregnancy by giving underage girls statistics lessons… Instead, from 2013 advertisements promoting the same causes as UNICEF or WHO started to be on Latin American and Asian TV using local beauty queens. In Venezuela, home of beauty pageants, Maria Gabriela Isler (Miss Universe 2013) ran the campaign “Si te apuras… Que ganas?” (If you hurry up… What do you gain?). Maria Gabriela has over 480k followers on Instagram where she posted about the campaign. This campaign became very popular in Latin America endorsing an influential power that a beauty queen can have on young girls.

Women in beauty pageants come out as strong and self-confident entrepreneurs. The women I have been working with from beauty pageants feel empowered. Such is the level of empowerment, that in Latin America and South Asia former national title holders are recognized as entrepreneurs and even some as successful politicians. The list of beauty queens supporting successful philanthropic causes includes: Hallee Berry, Oprah Winfrey and Irene Saez. Beauty queens are often committed to social causes and with the power of social media, they manage to influence the majority of population following these pageants.

 Empowered women devoted to social issues are admired among the population as heroes. Today, UNICEF or UNHCR recognize the influence power of celebrities by working with them to promote their causes. This recognition is important as a humble step to understand the communication strategy we use to tackle social problems. Beauty queens aim to become entrepreneurs or media professionals, careers with the power to inspire others and promote change. Beauty queens are now proving to be respected as intelligent women using their authority to promote social causes.

Some beauty queens are often ridiculed for their answers in interviews or debates. However, have we ever wonder how would the majority of population would answer to the same questions we ask beauty queens? Would have we been able to answer questions about politics or sociology being 18 and studying arts? (Idea for a YouTube humor channel) Most of the women entering pageants have not had a previous education behind, and this does not undermine their motivation to help a social cause or to have a career. Beauty pageants have a chance to become schools for women who would like to pursue a career in arts and make a difference in the world. International pageants are not won anymore by a pretty girl. They are won by a prepared woman who is outspoken and able to be a voice for a cause after being educated about it. If pageants serve as a school for this women they have the chance to become strong advocates of any cause of their interest.

Beauty queens are celebrities and as celebrities they have the power to reach a significant part of the population following their careers in entertainment. We all aim to promote causes preventing gender violence, fostering poverty alleviation or health self-awareness. We have seen how these causes are better absorbed by society if a celebrity promotes it. This is our chance embrace beauty pageants and queens as the future advocates of social causes.

Photo:  Stefania Fernandez / Miss Universe 2009 - Global campaign to create awareness about violence in Latin America #MissesForPeace - CR: Daniel Bracci