A beauty pageant has found itself in hot water where its ambassador Indian beauty queen, has discontinued from her duties, citing several reasons, including body shaming. How beauty standards are targeting the mental health of individuals.

The beauty pageant world is certainly one that seeks perfection, under the light of rigorous gym routines, practising a trip-less seven-inch heel walk, a balanced gown that you control and not the one that controls you, and once you have it all covered, you are ready to represent the woman of your country. If you win, it’s a win for the country. Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, and Juhi Chawla have all been through the Miss India days, representing a modern Indian woman who’s globalised yet rooted at home.

But what happens post-victory, which isn’t necessarily true for all the pageants, is a dark shadow that looms over the winner and takes the whole of her if she struggles to continue those easy ideals of beauty that resonate with every woman.

Resigned or Removed?

In a shocking incident recently, 21-year-old Rachel Gupta, who became the first Indian woman to bring home the crown of Miss Grand International, resigned in the middle of her year, as mentioned by her. The model and beauty queen took to Instagram on Wednesday, this week, making an official statement about stepping down from her duties as Miss Grand International. The Organisation had a different story to tell, Nawat Itsaragrisil, the president and the owner of the organisation, said publicly in a personal social media live, “I told you we will terminate you already… when I sent the letter to you,” he publicly addressed the grand beauty queen. “We terminated you first, and after like half an hour, you posted after me. You did not resign, I kicked you out.”

No Food, No Salary and just a dilapidated apartment.

Later that day, Gupta, took to YouTube and shared a video, sharing her traumatic experiences with the organisation during her short yet impactful 7 months period as their ambassador, she allegedly claimed that the organisation provided no food, the promises were broken, the legal clauses that she was made to condone to were exploitive. She even admitted that she was made to live in a small, dilapidated apartment.

“He Started Pincing Me,” She Was Told To Lose Weight.

The claim that sounds the most outrageous is the one that underlines the aspect of the beauty pageant and the notion of beauty it has, as she reminisced about her exploitation, she said that one of the members from the team came and pinched her body, indicating the areas from where she had to lose weight.

It Is Not The First Time

It is not the first time, that such claims about disparaging comments linked to body shaming have been made by a beauty queen, in the past there have been instances of other women too, notably Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, Miss Universe 2021 had gone through a similar incident where she was trolled and bullied by the people because of her weight gain, several media outlets even spread a fake work regarding the revocation of her title because she had gained a few pounds, Sandhu completed her tenure successfully and became an image of strength for a lot of women, other incidents too where Sierra Bearchell, Miss Universe Canada 2016 was trolled for being healthy by the spectators. Being fat isn’t the only issue; being too thin is as much of a problem. Alyssa Campanella, former Miss USA, was mocked for being too thin.

The notions of beauty, popularised by the world, put women in a series of traumas, and this is how

Certain standards of beauty continue to exist in our society despite how many of them are disparaging and demeaning, which promotes an unhealthy idea that rots the mind.

The ‘specific ideal image’ is demeaning to the other images

The idea that only a slim woman is beautiful and to claim the title of the most beautiful woman, you have to be in a mold of a particular shape, is putting women in an area of darkness where the ones who are struggling to achieve it are pushed to the boundaries of self-hate and negative thoughts about their bodies.

The struggle it takes to be that image is another strain

Women often have to resort to strict practices to achieve the body that suits the most beautiful woman of all. The strenuous diets, the sacrifices, and the intense body workouts that women have to resort to, even at times when they don’t want to, are more challenging, as what they are and how they are doesn’t resonate with the idea of beauty that society has set.

Bullying that follows after you lose the mark in the middle of your year

What escalates this issue to a major concern is when the women who win these competitions fail to continue that image, they have to face the brunt of it in the form of bullying from the people, in the past women who have gone through such difficult conditions have been mocked by the people in the most demanding way possible, where the cyber citizens have posted comments on their social media calling them fat and even pregnant. This creates an intense struggle for these women and causes them depression and anxiety.

They lose confidence

Bullying and trolling leave women, in the shadow of loss of self-esteem and confidence, any woman who doesn’t fit in the utterly slim image of beauty, is trolled on social media, cyberbullying escalates the effect of body shaming that women and people in general encounter on social media and that affects their mental health.

Lack of belongingness

Fit people are mostly recognised and celebrated on social media and in society. When there is a lack of representation and support for healthy people who may not necessarily fit into the thin images of beauty, the people who stand in contrast to them feel lost and confused. The lack of representation gives birth to a lack of belongingness, creating a stream of solitude, and pushing people into depression, anxiety and mental health-related issues.

Being Slim isn’t the only healthy, this is something that one should always remember, we all are built differently, and have different lives and what makes us beautiful is the confidence to wear and celebrate our authenticity, you may not fit into what the world calls the beautiful and yet be the most beautiful person in the world, if you have the confidence to decide your worth and you would realise that being beautiful doesn’t pretty hurt.

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