It seems like more and more often nowadays, beauty pageants are rife with controversy. Perhaps this is because women are increasingly becoming more outspoken and less repressed, leading them to speak their minds and make waves where they might not have previously.
One example was Miss Michigan's powerful moment at the Miss America pageant in 2018. In her opening introduction, Emily Sioma took the opportunity to slam her state's ongoing water crisis in the city of Flint. Many viewers applauded her bold move, and she didn't face any negative repercussions for it.
Unfortunately, other beauty queens involved in controversy have not been so lucky.
In 2016, Génesis Dávila was crowned Miss Florida USA. But before she was able to compete in Miss USA, Génesis was stripped of her crown — all for sharing a photo of herself getting her makeup professionally done, which was apparently against pageant rules.
Later on, another beauty queen lost her title as a result of breaking the pageant's rules. But many people are saying the rules that cost Miss Ukraine 2018 her crown were outdated and just plain outrageous.
Scroll through to learn about another beauty pageant controversy.
Veronika Didusenko is a Ukrainian model and beauty queen.
The stunning Kiev-born young woman competed in the Miss Ukraine pageant in her home city.
On September 20, 2018, Veronika was crowned Miss Ukraine 2018.
Unfortunately, her reign didn't last very long.
According to the New York Post, on September 24, the Miss Ukraine organization released a statement saying that Veronika had been disqualified and stripped of her crown and title.
The statement read, according to Yahoo's translation:
“In accordance with the Rules for conducting the National Beauty Contest Miss Ukraine, a person who wishes to take part in the National Beauty Contest ‘Miss Ukraine’ must comply, among other things, with the following requirements (valid for the period of the Contest): — not / was not married; — has no children.”
Apparently, the young woman had not disclosed that she was previously married and had a 4-year-old son.
The divorced mom, who works with kids as part of the Young Einsteins organization, keeps her child off her social media accounts for privacy.
Since Veronika was stripped of her crown, she has been outspoken on social media about the unfairness of it and the bias she faces as a young single mother.
In an Instagram post, she wrote:
“Not such a long time ago I was wearing a crown of Miss Ukraine 2018, a crown which would allow me to represent my country at the Miss World contest in China. I wanted to tell the world a unique story of my country — home of truly heroic and freedom-loving people.
"Yet, my right to represent my country on the global scene was taken away from me because of the rules written 70 years ago. The archaic rules which ban mothers from the Miss Ukraine contest. The discriminatory rules which were written when racial segregation was still the norm."
“Worldwide the number of girls who participate in this contest amounts to millions. Millions of women are allowed to participate only if they don’t have children. In 2018, this is simply not right. This discrimination on the grounds of motherhood must end. This indirect encouragement of abortion must end.
"I AM LAUNCHING A FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN to deliver this message globally. With your help I will take the fight for the abolition of this disgraceful prehistoric rule to every major global capital. Time to stand up for a women’s right not to be punished for being a mother. We must eliminate the last remaining rule which discriminates against women with children."
In her first statement following the decrowning announcement, Veronika also thanked her fans and followers for their support.
"While it’s true that Veronika Didusenko reported false information, she did so to draw attention to the discriminatory practices, ones that correspond only to the time and the standards of the era when they were created," it read.
She also shared a statement allegedly made by Bohdan Osypchuk, a member of the jury of Miss Ukraine 2018, in which he said of Veronika: "She gave birth when she was 19 and then divorced. I think it is wrong to position such a person as a role model for others to follow!"
"That is what I face almost every day!" Veronika said of the bias expressed in the quote.
Despite her outspoken disagreement with the committee's decision, the pageant officials have not backed down. On September 30, they held a special broadcast to crown 19-year-old Leonila Guz as the new Miss Ukraine 2018 winner.
What do you think of this controversy and the rules forbidding women who have been married or have kids from competing?
