Former Miss Finland: How beauty contests affect body image
'Beauty is difficult. You will always be judged by the beauty and the looks because it's the easiest'
The debate of how beauty contests affect the body image of women returned as a topic of controversy surrounding the recent 2021 Miss Universe contest held in Eilat, southern Israel.
Despite the backlash that it faced, the pageant was widely popular with an estimated 172 million viewers tuning in as India’s Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe on Monday.
Amid the controversy, i24NEWS spoke with former Miss Finland about her experience competing in the Miss Universe pageant.
Lola Odusoga, Miss Universe 2nd Runner-up in 1996, mentioned that she competed as the first black woman to represent Finland, which posed additional pressures.
“There was a lot of controversy about my look, my color, and my figure,” Odusoga said.
“Everything was wrong, so that’s what I was fighting for the whole time.”
Odusoga noted that social media adds another layer that the contestants deal with.
“Everybody tells you what they think about you, what they don’t like about you, so it's really tough to have good self-control and to think the best of yourself.”
She continued to explain how contestants face the pressure of how they look, how they walk, and how they talk, among “a million different ways to feel insecure.”
“Beauty is difficult. You will always be judged by the beauty and the looks because it's the easiest.”
However, Odusoga voiced to i24NEWS her appreciation of this year’s diversity and inclusion among the contestants in Miss Universe 2021.
“I was very happy to see this year a lot of different body types, different colors, and different backgrounds. We need to be respected no matter the size.”