“Beauty pageants have been accomplices in the coercive construct of beauty, they have in so many ways affirmed [the notion that women are insufficient.”
This is according to diversity advocate, model and former lawyer Thando Hopa (30), one of the judges for the recent Miss South Africa (SA) pageant.
“However, like any other platform, when platforms of influence such as these are used responsibly, they can effectively allow for a more expansive narrative of what women are,” Hopa adds about the pageant.
The televised programme was held on 9 August, Women’s Day in South Africa.
It saw Eastern Cape born Zozibini Tunzi (25) walk away with the crown of Miss SA 2019, but it also sparked social media conversations around representation and the function of pageants in empowering women.
Twitter users celebrating the new Miss SA, while others raised concerns of lack of representation on the platform.
I’m so excited for my 5 years old daughter to watch Miss SA and see a woman with natural hair be crowned. Eczema has affected her hair growth & this will show her your beauty is not defined by your hair.
Representation matters #MissSA2019 @zozitunzi #Congratulations— Londiwe (@iamlondiwe) August 10, 2019
https://twitter.com/ShaunMunonoka/status/1159842449163866113?s=20
https://twitter.com/GovenderLarisha/status/1159852303056326656?s=20
https://twitter.com/CandiMorrow_/status/1160475726921064448?s=20
“I went into it because I felt like it was a partnership or collaboration that could infuse social change by bringing in a broader perspective of representation and what represents South Africa’s story,” Hopa says of her decision to join the judging panel.
Hopa notes that a pageant like Miss SA can behave as an ally to social change and social stability if we are intentional about it. “The fact that there is structural support and resources for the title holder to focus on a social cause indicates a crucial component of the tools embedded within such platforms,” she adds.
Miss SA had a diverse judging panel that consisted of (from left to right) Anele Mdoda, Thando Hopa, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Connie Ferguson and Catriona Grey. PHOTO: Twitter
Lethukwenama Letsoalo (23) is a final year medical student at Stellenbosch University (SU), and went on to reach the semi-finals of the Miss SA competition in 2018. She says the Miss SA platform is evolving, noting that a lot seems to have changed since last year.
“If you look at the spectrum of contestants this year compared to last year, there’s a huge difference,” she says, adding that the panel chose a Miss SA whose story a lot of young people in the country can relate to.
Letsoalo is a final year medical student at SU and reached the semi-finals of the Miss SA competition. PHOTO: Supplied
“But also with pageants: are they still relevant? Why do we still need to parade in front of people and be judged on that?”, Letsoalo says, adding that there are positives to the show to consider: “It changes your life in one night; you have connections for life, you get [a lot] of money and you’re almost guaranteed success.”
20 year old Masake Maleka is a BA psychology and sociology student at SU. Maleka has participated in several pageants since 2013, going on to win Miss Spring in the Free State in 2015.
Masake Maleka is currently a 3rd Year BA student at SU and has been involved with several pageants over the years. PHOTO: Supplied
“I still feel that [Miss SA] is not a full representation of South African women because not all South African women are tall, have nice legs, have got perfect bodies. I still believe that the one thing that still lacks there is a sort of variety of women. We still don’t get short [or] thick women on that platform.”
A philanthropist who runs her own company that helps support young people, Maleka says she’s recently become intentional about why she enters pageants, choosing to enter competitions that have a more holistic approach, “that’s why I mostly go in with the aspect of beauty with brains and beauty with a purpose.”