Miss Universe SG revises physical musts: Inclusive or just a PR stunt?

She's beauty, she's grace and she can be of any age. Miss Universe Singapore is opening auditions for a new role model and ambassador this Saturday (10 August) with revised requirements. 

While the brand is still looking for women who can embody physical beauty and a passion for social advocacy, it is now opening up its search to include women who are over the age of 18, with no age limitation. The competition is also open to women who are married, divorced or have children. According to a statement by Miss Universe Singapore, it is in an "effort to keep the pageant inclusive". 

Other requirements include being a Singapore citizen or a permanent resident and holding a valid Singapore passport until at least 1 June 2025. That said, a new minimum height requirement of 1.68m has also been added. 

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"We aim to give our Singaporean women the opportunity to shine, showcase their unique charms and let their inner queens dazzle the world," said Miss Universe Singapore in the same statement. 

Interestingly, when registering as a contestant, the footnote reads: "Please note, these requirements are set by the International Miss Universe Organisation – we must adhere to these criteria so that in the event that one of our participants wins the title of Miss Universe Singapore, they remain eligible to compete in the Miss Universe International Final and potentially win the Miss Universe Crown".

This begs the questions of if the Miss Universe Singapore beauty pageant is truly inclusive or if the move was simply a PR one. 

Inclusive or a PR move? 

Khairah Rahim, co-founder and chief marketing officer of creative talent agency Independents said that the move "appears to be a good PR move at first glance" however, the review does cast a spotlight on the other criteria that remain or that were newly introduced. 

"When juxtaposed against the new minimum height requirement, one wonders if what is implied is that some criteria are more important than others when it comes to embracing diversity in beauty competitions. We must be careful about this selective application of some diversity standards as it could be perceived as an act of diversity washing instead," said Khairah, adding: 

Good PR and sound business judgment in my opinion is when there is a clear alignment of values with proposed strategic actions.

Beauty standards in society continue to evolve and that it is perhaps "crucial, if not more important to focus on profiles who demonstrate inner beauty as well as external beauty," said Khairah. 

She added that although there is a trend in society to head towards greater authenticity and diversity, the continued long-term relevance of beauty competitions may come into question.

The Miss Universe franchise has been around for over 70 years and over time, it has sought to brand itself as more than just a beauty pageant. "For some it is a celebration of women of all cultures and backgrounds, to others it’s a show of female empowerment, while to many – it is still at it’s a core a showcase of beauty," said Pamela Tor Das, vice president, Singapore and emerging markets at TEAM LEWIS Singapore.

"While I applaud changes it has made to create a more open call for participants, if the criteria to win remains the same, would this instead fuel more unrealistic expectations of what female beauty should be after childbirth or a certain age?" added Das. 

With auditions opening this weekend, it remains to be seen if Miss Universe Singapore will follow through with its desire to "keep the pageant inclusive". 

I am also curious to see how the competition pans out and how it aims to redefine beauty in today’s world. Might it be lip service and fall back on stereotypical standards of beauty?

Lessons from Victoria's Secret 

In addition, Das questions whether audiences and consumers are even ready for the change. "Do people watch it to celebrate diversity and inclusion, or do they simply do so for the entertainment value? The latter is likely the situation and while I am a big supporter of brands promoting realism and authenticity, this may not make market sense for all brands," said Das, adding that: 

"They need to evaluate what makes them relevant to their audiences and consumers, and sometimes diversity and inclusion is not the answer."

The Victoria's Secret image overhaul acts as a good case study where the brand decided to retire its supermodel "Angels" and hyper-sexualised image and shift its brand to a new group of seven ambassadors called the "VS Collective" to positively impact the lives of women in 2021. 

The collective, which includes soccer player Megan Rapinoe, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser - are known for their advocacy work in gender equality and body positivity, as well as represent a wider range of body types and sexual and gender identities. 

"At Victoria's Secret, we are on an incredible journey to become the world's leading advocate for women," said Martin Waters, chief executive officer, Victoria's Secret back in 2021. "This is a dramatic shift for our brand, and it's a shift that we embrace from our core. These new initiatives are just the beginning. We are energised and humbled by the work ahead of us."

Two years after a much-hyped image revamp, the lingerie brand reverted back to its old ways. According to Business of Fashion in 2023, the brand's sales have continued to decline, pushing the retailer's prime objective to improve profitability and cross back over US$7 billion in annual sales. 

To do so, Victoria's Secret decided to expand its apparel assortment, update stores, continue cutting costs and above all, re-embrace its sexy image, added Business of Fashion. 

"Reverting back to traditional stereotypes of beauty, similar to the case of Victoria's Secret when sales were depleting, is a classic case of misalignment of values with strategic action, which in my opinion is a bad PR and business move," said Khairah. 

"Long term business success and sustained positive brand perception can only happen when there are clear values driving the business as well as thorough understanding of consumer sentiments and what drives sales," explained Khairah adding that,

"Trying to jump on woke trends without first assessing fit within each business’ context and consumer sentiments may backfire instead." 

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