Pageantry Talk with Pamela Dillon | Part Three
Miss Pam with past delegates that she worked with.
Miss Pam with past delegates that she worked with.

Is pageantry in Guyana losing its value?

FOR the past two weeks we have featured our conversation on pageantry in Guyana, with local pageant mother, Pamela Dillon.
This week we wrap up our dialogue.

SWIMSUITS, A NO-GO?
A few pageants including Miss World and Miss America, have eliminated the swimsuit segment of the pageant, justifying that they will no longer judge contestants on their physical appearance. However, Miss Pam had a different take. She believes that the swimsuit segment is the segment where true confidence is showcased. “It shows how proud and comfortable you are with your body. You show the world, ‘This is me. Love me’,” she said.

When asked if she believes that curvier contestants are placed at a disadvantage, she expounded on categories.

Miss Pam with past delegates that she worked with.

“You stay within your category. And there are categories. When we are selecting we know who we are selecting and who for what reason. So if you’re going to have a lineup and they all have to be 5’7” to 6 feet tall, you’re not going to take a 5’5”…And same thing if you say 5’7” to 6 feet tall, with weight in proportion to height. If you’re doing a Miss Full Figure or Miss Transgender, the same rule applies. It depends on what’s the criteria. Whatever is the category of the pageant, that is what you have to agree to. So if you believe that you don’t need to fit the criteria, you can’t have certain expectations. You need to stay in your lane,” she said.

MAKE-UP, HAIR AND CULTURAL TWEAKS
We have seen the extravagance when it comes to pageant hair and makeup. It usually bends toward the line of long straight hair and heavy contour.

But Miss Pam believes that too much is done in that regard. She believes that the hair and makeup should complement their features and embrace their differences and who they really are.

“You might have some things to fix but you are working with the girl. You don’t make her over into someone else. Look at Miss Jamaica last year, who came very close to winning Miss Universe. She had her own personal style. It is one of the traits Jamaicans have. They don’t ever compromise or sacrifice their culture and style for anyone. And this is a trait that we Guyanese should adopt,” she said.

In relation to cultural identity, Miss Pam referenced Jamaicans again, saying “They don’t change their accent for anyone. They eat their yam and their jerk chicken right on the side of the corner of the road. They buy their fruits and they bite into their mango right on the road there. They don’t fix culture for anybody else, this is their thing and they own it. That’s what makes you stand out. You have to be naturally you. And that’s our problem,” she said.

“We tend to think that we have to make over our girls to make her look like the Northern girls. This girl is from the end of South America into the Caribbean. She is uniquely made and beautiful with six races behind her. Culturally she is a beautiful mix. Her team needs to look at who she is and carve things out to suit the goddess. Don’t try to make her over,” Miss Pam emphasised.

Miss Pam with past delegates that she worked with.

She narrated an experience from a few years back, “I remember a girl from Miss Universe had to make her promotional video and she was running all around looking for a fancy house to shoot because she can’t showcase where she comes from. And I remember when another queen went to Miss World and showed where she lived and her own Guyanese bashed her, asking why she couldn’t show somewhere better. Better than what? It’s us. We’re doing that, we fake,” she said.

This is one of the biggest problems, the pageant expert said, “We tend to think that we have to pretend to be someone, instead of embrace who we really are. She added that the most natural girl is the one that stands out and not the one who clearly shows a timid personality from hiding behind a façade.”

But all in all, pageantry is a great experience for any girl. Miss Pam believes that Guyana needs a pageant counsel which will be responsible for setting the standards and criteria for the industry. “And we as a Guyanese people need to be more patriotic and support our representatives, instead of tearing them down. The same public should stand behind the girl. There’s no perfect girl, but you work with a personality; you work with whatever she brings to the table and give her the support she needs to bring home the crown,” Miss Pam said.

We hope that this segment brought much insight into the world of pageantry, and encouraged greater appreciation for the industry.

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