Catriona Gray Talks About The “Tokenism In Advocacy” In The Pageantry
One of the topics that Catriona Gray discussed in her new feature cover on Preview PH magazine for March 2023 is about the “tokenism in advocacy” within the pageantry. Where girls just pick up a charity to present while competing but then stops after the pageant is over. And she’s absolutely right!
“I feel like there’s a tokenism in advocacy, that a girl will only pick it up for the pageantry. And as soon as the competition is done, you don’t hear a peep anymore about the cause that they were so passionate about. And I think that’s sad, because the platform doesn’t disappear when you exit the competition.”
For Catriona, it’s not about pushing certain agendas in pageantry, or giving specific causes a bigger spotlight. “It’s more of how we can be more authentic in being advocates, because advocacy is not just for beauty queens—it’s for everyone,” she says. (SOURCE/images: Preview PH)
HALLELUJAH! It’s about time someone from the beauty pageant industry finally said something. If you have been following me on Twitter since I opened the FIS blog and @PinaysInSchowbiz Twitter back in 2009 I have always been vocal about the advocacy aspect after every Miss Universe pageant. I stand strongly by these thoughts. Everyyear every girl on that stage is beautiful and have something special to offer. The thing that stands out is the contestant’s conviction of her words and her knowledge about it when she presents the charity cause before the coronation night even happens. The judges and the public will know right away when a contestant is not being authentic about her advocacy. We can all scroll at their personal social media accounts. Right?? Check out below the most recent tweets and some old ones pertaining to this topic. Again, I’m so glad Catriona has publicly spoken up about this particular subject. And that my friends is one of the reasons why she was Miss Universe 2018.