A Beauty Queen Doesn't Model, She Speaks

_{Probably My Last One.
Photo and Editing by: Richard John Pozon Hive account@richardjohn}

Beauty pageants have stirred mixed reactions from people who enjoy them and people who find them problematic. Just the other night, a smart guy remarked "Aren't you all for the feminism movement? Then you should have a problem with beauty pageants." For him, subjecting women to standards set by men from body figures to facial features, are all superficial ways of telling women they are pretty and smart. He even followed up with, "How can you judge a person's intellect based on one question?"

Actually, he presented good points. Naturally, I set out to defend mine. "The essence of beauty pageants for me lies in the advocacies championed by these women. Sure, the criteria of the competition don't align with this yet, there could be improvements done in this area, but let's face it, there are important issues that people usually don't care about. If it takes entertainment and showmanship for people to actually pay attention, then so be it."

The title of this post is inspired by Lu Sierra's job description of a Miss Universe, and I quote -

"Miss Universe does not model, she speaks. So can she speak clear(ly) so that the auditorium will listen to her? Do her eyes light up? Does she smile when she talk? Is her posture good? She's a diplomat and her job is to pull in the audience when she's speaking to little girls. 'Hello ladies I am your Miss Universe and I want you to be the best you you can be.'"

_{Advocating for Climate Action.
Photo and Editing by: Richard John Pozon Hive account@richardjohn}

For this year, with the help of my organization the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers, I'm advocating for climate action. There is no denying that climate change has become an emergency. We only have 3 years to take massive action before things go completely out of hand.

This advocacy is close to my heart since it wasn't that long ago when Typhoon Odette hit my province and it took lives and the livelihood of my community. The ice in Greenland has been melting at an alarming rate and Europe has been experiencing its hottest this summer season.

We can try to start in our own homes by reducing the harmful activities that have been contributing to global warming. We can stop burning plastics, reduce the use of single-use plastics, use our metal straws, choose sustainable sanitary wear, opt to go for products that have been produced in eco-friendly industries, and even delete our emails. However, these actions may not be enough to make a massive impact in three years' time.

_{Listen to Science.
Photo and Editing by: Richard John Pozon Hive account@richardjohn}

We should listen to our scientists and we should join them in demanding immediate action from our world leaders. Our world leaders should come up with policies that make big corporations become accountable for the damage that they have done and they are continually making. These world leaders will then cascade these policies to our local government and finally to us the ordinary citizens. In turn, we can be fully supportive of the implementation of the solutions that they have put in place.

_{Determined to take a stand.
Photo and Editing by: Richard John Pozon Hive account@richardjohn}

I've always been vocal about my love for pageants as they bring out my competitive spirit. I'm always determined to win. But now, more than ever, I am more determined to speak about Climate Action. If we don't act now, we have to anticipate that the world as we know it will never be the same. There is no Planet B, at least in this lifetime.