Azapo faces pushback for 'ban beauty pageants' call

The Azanian People's Organisation's (Azapo) call for the ban of beauty pageants, arguing the competitions do more harm than good, has received pushback. 

In the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the Miss South Africa pageant, Azapo spokesperson Jabu Rakwena voiced concerns about the negative effect the competition might have on young girls and society at large, putting a spotlight on Chidimma Adetshina, who withdrew from the pageant after criticism. 

Rakwena believes while beauty pageants have traditionally been celebrated as showcases of beauty and talent, they also perpetuate harmful ideals.

“Beneath the glitz and glamour, there is a darker side that we seriously need to scrutinise and decide what value, if any, such parades add. Research has shown that these pageants can lead to harmful effects, particularly on young girls. From body dissatisfaction to disordered eating, the pressure to conform to an often unattainable ideal of beauty can have serious impacts,” he said.

Rakwena criticised the objectification inherent in beauty pageants, noting that they reinforce problematic gender norms.

“By judging women primarily on how they look, beauty pageants can be seen as objectifying and reinforcing problematic gender norms and expectations. This leads to the objectification of women more broadly in society.

“Participating in beauty pageants can be very expensive, requiring investments in clothing, makeup, coaching and other preparation costs. This financial burden can be significant and excludes those who cannot afford to participate.

“Pageants have historically lacked diversity, with winners often coming from a limited range of backgrounds. This can send a problematic message about whose beauty and identity are valued.

“Azapo is convinced that beauty pageants do not add value to our society, and the advancement of advocacy and charity goals can still happen without having to expose young women to such trauma and uncertainty of knowing what the expectations of the judges would be.”

In response to Azapo’s stance, Carolyn Baldwin Botha, CEO of Africa Pageants, defended the pageant system.

“It is a personal choice. I don’t believe that anybody can call for it to be banned. It is a personal choice of every contestant who enters the pageant, whether they want to enter it or not, and everybody who enters the pageant knows upfront 'you are going to be judged on your physical beauty'. You're going to be judged on your looks. Your confidence, your personality,” Botha told TimesLIVE.

Botha also highlighted the positive aspects of pageants, such as charitable work.

“The sash is extremely powerful,” she said, highlighting former Miss South Africa Natasha Joubert's initiative where she partnered with ASUS and HyperionDev on a coding bursary programme.

“Her original goal was to give 12 or 15 bursaries, but she ended up getting 62 bursaries. Do people not understand how powerful that is?” said Botha.

Botha emphasised that understanding the true purpose behind pageantry could mitigate some of the criticism against it.

“If people could just understand the true reason behind beauty pageants. None of this media hype would be taking place at all. Absolutely none of that is in social media and the media as a whole; we've got people who don't understand the true meaning of the beauty pageant.” 

However, Botha acknowledged issues within the pageant industry, such as unprofessional organisers and the need for better governance.

“So until we can get the sports, arts and culture department to put together a governing body to govern pageantry in this country, we're going to have every Tom, Dick and Harry running pageants and making an absolute fortune out of them and then they miss the entire reason for winning that crown and sash,” she said.

The debate continues as both sides present their arguments regarding the future of beauty pageants and their role in society.

TimesLIVE