The year 2024 marks a special one for South Africa.
Not only are we a common fixture in pop culture's lexicon but we are also celebrating 30 years of democracy.
Our history has made us the poster children of racial unity and being champions who stand against racial injustices — just ask Naledi Pandor aka Nick Fury from the Avengers.
We have had a number of groundbreaking rights for the marginalised and are one of many trailblazers when it comes to inclusivity — including being one of few to identify Sign Language as an official language. However, recent times have had occasion to test this concept and our digital footprint has been marred by the reactions to Miss South Africa hopeful Chidimma Adetshina.
No doubt scorned by the political utterances of sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie, the young hopeful born in Soweto’s Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital to immigrant parents felt forced to step down from competing at the finale due to the immense toll the social media bullying took on her.
While the Miss South Africa pageant has had its fair share of controversies, they have also taken great strides in pushing boundaries when it comes to redefining what beauty standards are acceptable and reflecting the inclusivity which has become synonymous with the DNA of RSA.
So much so that Mia Le Roux snatching the crown on Saturday became a fitting win. One that sees the first deaf contestant taking centre stage and waving the flag for all South African beauties. A risk the pageant took in its six consecutive BIPOC [black, indigenous people of colour] wins in the 90s, at a time when chances were slim for black title-holders. They took part in the Supranational pageant which allows contestants over 28 to try out. Most recognisable was Zozibini Tunzi's win in 2019 which caused quite a stir.
The pageant world has always embraced long luscious locks for its entrants but Tunzi sparked controversy when she glided across the Miss Universe stage with a boyish fade haircut.
While it was popular to have the dome-like hairstyles of the 60s when Miss Universe 1959 took the crown in baby bangs, it would be Brook Lee who preceded Tunzi in 1997 when she won in a shoulder-length chop. Tunzi, however, was unexpected with her natural hair becoming the first and smashing boundaries while at it.
While the women of pageants don't end wars in their pursuit of world peace or bring a systemic end to world hunger, they yield the power to shape the mindset within and outside our borders.
Like many of her fellow contestants, Adetshina is selected from a pool of young women who are more than qualified to represent aspects of South Africa.
A child born to two foreign nationals and one whose nationality is currently under question is indicative of the role South Africa has played on the continent. Her history speaks to our rainbow nation and its many varying shades of white, black and other coloured identities.
For that reason, it should come as no surprise that Le Roux was the winner of the crown. While her consistency and poise earned her the crown, she and Adetshina carry similar traits to predecessors like Tunzi. They are unconventional pageant queens.
Traditionalists who latch on to old conventions of womanhood expect title-holders to reflect the ideals of society.
And as pageants continue to be criticised for their surface-level existence, the Miss South Africa pageant's constant defiance through the likes of Le Roux, Adetshina and Tunzi celebrates trailblazers.
It's high time real plus-sized women took on the stage and proved they too can be ambassadors for a country.
A job that does not require a fast metabolism but a healthy entrant with a penchant for political exchange.
By pushing the limits with other differently abled entrants, women of diverse backgrounds and those who are ostracised, the pageant can start challenging its viewers who turned on Miss South Africa and its top 30, which consisted of a black woman with a French surname, its first Chinese entrant and those whose African roots are much more recent than others.
It’s high time pageants in South Africa stop playing beauty apartheid with its contestants who must hunt for a competition to embrace their version of beauty as it will continue feeding into the stereotypes that contradict the 30 years we should be celebrating.
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