• The evolution of inclusive beauty pageants 

Beauty pageants have an interesting reputation in Sri Lanka, especially following the now infamous Mrs. Sri Lanka 2021 controversy. Prior to the scandal, the public appeared to be just mildly interested in the concept of beauty pageants, believing it to be largely a thing of the fashion and modelling world, removed from the general public.  

This changed with Mrs. Sri Lanka, when during the finale, winner Pushpika de Silva’s crown was unceremoniously and forcibly removed from her head on stage by the previous title holder. The incident sparked widespread social media reactions and media attention and caused significant backlash, which we will not get into here. 

While it was an unfortunate incident for the parties involved, it did garner a lot of public attention. At least for some of us, it allowed the reigniting of bygone interest in pageantry and reality/talent competitions. It would seem that pageants have evolved over time, adopting different values, with their purpose shifting from exterior credentials to talent and intellect. Often, you will now hear stakeholders in the pageant industry actively differentiate themselves from the modelling world. 

Longtime national trainer for numerous pageants representing Sri Lanka and Model With Ruki Managing Director Rukmal Senanayake also made special note of this distinction: “We often hear Sri Lankans complain about certain pageant winners who are crowned; pointing out their figure or shape and other physical attributes, wondering how they were crowned as a beauty queen. However, that is due to people confusing models with pageant queens. Pageant contestants are judged not only on their outward beauty; it is essentially a talent show and women have an opportunity to show off different skill sets to win themselves the crown.”

Beauty is diverse 

Senanayake further exemplified this disconnect between society’s perception of pageantry and what those in the industry wished others to understand. He said that just as other spectator events had evolved with the times, so had beauty. 

Perhaps a decade or two ago, winning a pageant was based on your outer presentation, your ability to use hair/makeup skills to present yourself as a ‘stereotypical’ beauty, but now, we recognise beauty as the energy inside that informs the outer appearance, which requires a lot more skills than the use of a makeup brush or hairspray. He said that while the pageant industry had evolved, the message to the public had yet to overcome the stereotypes. 

With this evolution, there has been a shift in the nature of beauty pageants, to the point where many pageants have grown to either be more inclusive in their many categories, expanding to include older women, married/unmarried women of different age categories, and even pageants like Ms. Senior World, which is for women between the ages of 50-79. 

A particularly notable pageant in this inclusive category is the Queen of the World Pageant. Initiated by the production company Beauty Redefined, with the motto to “create an inclusive and diverse leadership programme for the modern woman, regardless of her age and/or marital status,” it is a new generation of pageants, empowering women with training in leadership, public speaking, walking, and poise.

Queen of the World Sri Lanka 

The Queen of the World Pageant is unique in its inclusivity and its primary objective to empower women. In a message shared at the launch of the Queen of the World Pageant, its CEO and Founder Alice Lee Giannetta shared her perspective and why she had taken the initiative to create a space for women of all ages and backgrounds.

“One of the many things I love about pageants is that they can be a great platform for women of any age or background. If I can become a triple crown pageant winner in my 30s, anyone can! Pageants are amazing, but I also experienced many ugly sides of this beauty business. That is what inspired me to create my production company called Beauty Redefined and to produce the Queen of the World Pageant,” she said. 

With Giannetta’s blessing, Queen of the World has now entered Sri Lanka, with the reins taken up by beauty queen and an international titleholder for Sri Lanka Nadeeka Senevirathna. Senevirathna will be the first President and Director of Queen of the World Sri Lanka. 

Speaking to Brunch about this undertaking, Senevirathna shared that while it was daunting, she felt that she had the necessary support system to create this opportunity for Sri Lankan women. “It is a global franchise and I am incredibly happy that I am able to introduce it to Sri Lanka for the first time,” she said. 

She also elaborated on how the competition would function, making special note of the four unique categories. Queen of the World contestants will be competing in the following categories; Miss Queen of the World (Age 18-29, unmarried), Ms. Queen of the World (Age 30+, unmarried), Mrs. Queen of the World (Age 18-55, married) and Elite Queen of the World (Age 50+, married or unmarried). 

Advocacy trainer, Deshabandu national award recipient, and Queen of the World Sri Lanka Operations Consultant Tharaka Gurukanda shared that the primary focus for the team behind this endeavour was women’s empowerment and providing Sri Lankan women a platform to truly shine. 

He said: “When it comes to pageants, it’s important not to exclude anyone. Here, we have not excluded anyone due to age or civil status because we understand the value that Sri Lankan women bring to the table.” 

Gurukanda encouraged all Sri Lankan women to apply for the pageant, noting that there was no fee required of the applicant and that they were sure to gain from this experience. “The winners will be given the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka in the US for the grand finale. There’s no cost for participants and we strongly believe it will be a great way to uplift Sri Lankan women,” he said. 

An opportunity for Sri Lankan women 

The pageant’s Official Choreographer Rukmal Senanayake also noted that a beauty queen need no longer be young or have the perfect figure, etc. He said that a beauty queen was understood to be a social representative; someone who would carry their communities’ values and strengths and exemplify them on the world stage. 

“A queen is someone who represents their nation on the world stage. We are looking for beauty with a purpose and beauty with brains,” he said, however adding that often, the women who took on the challenge of representing Sri Lanka in pageants were slighted by the lack of support they received. 

“There are people like Chandimal [Jayasinghe] who support the pageant industry and I will be forever grateful to him, but in general, there is a serious lack of knowledge sharing and opportunities for Sri Lankan women when they are preparing to represent the country in these pageants,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Director of Operations Leo Pragash shared that the organisers encouraged Sri Lankan cooperates to come on board as sponsors of the pageant. 

For hopeful contenders, the call for applications has been opened via the website www.qotwsrilanka.com. There is no registration fee and auditions are set to begin in the third week of July, with the finale scheduled for 22 September at Nelum Pokuna

PHOTOS LALITH PERERA