Beauty pageants present themselves today as global platforms for advocacy, philanthropy, and women’s empowerment. Yet their origins expose a far less noble truth: they were created by men, for men, to entertain men.
A brief history of pageants reveals their intentions. A format invented when women couldn’t vote, own property, or attend most universities hardly qualifies as empowerment. The earliest form of pageantry can be traced to simple “fairest maiden” contests at 19th-century county fairs—competitions designed to attract crowds, not uplift women. By 1921, when Miss America emerged in Atlantic City, pageants had become commercialised “bathing beauty” shows—tourist attractions meant to revive the local economy after summer holidays. Women were paraded in swimsuits before male judges whose gaze defined beauty and worth. Nearly 100 years later, are we still entertaining the same ritual?
Modern pageants claim to celebrate intelligence, advocacy, and leadership, yet many still penalise contestants who refuse to wear bikinis. The recent case of Miss Universe Bangladesh 2025, tearfully admitting she must wear a bikini to avoid losing points, exposes the system’s hypocrisy. If empowerment is truly the goal, why is nudity rewarded but modesty punished? Why is a woman’s intellect secondary to her willingness to be exposed? A woman confident in a suit, sari, or niqab is no less powerful than one confident in a bikini. But pageants reward only one version of confidence—the one that caters to the male gaze.
Behind the crown stands a commercial machine. Pageants are multi-million-dollar businesses; voting systems requiring payment—from SMS to apps—turn audiences into customers and contestants into commodities. I would gladly give the benefit of the doubt if the voting were verified, a genuine count of real people, not a paid competition where contestants must beg the public or corporations to buy votes just to win their country. That’s manipulation, Who profits? Not the women. Not the causes they claim to represent. But a corporate ecosystem that monetises women’s bodies and public sentiment.
The recent ordeal of Miss Bangladesh illustrates the psychological violence embedded in these competitions. Manipulated by an organisation that deducts points from those who refuse bikinis, she complied—only to face an avalanche of backlash at home. Social media erupted: one faction declared her attire a crime against culture and faith; another defended her autonomy; and the most toxic chorus dredged up her personal past to shame her. Being simultaneously coerced by the pageant system and crucified by the public is trauma I would not wish even upon an adversary.
This contradiction runs deep through feminism itself. Feminism demands freedom, agency, and dignity; pageants demand conformity, exposure, and performance. They perpetuate the idea that women must compete for validation, that women’s bodies are public property, that beauty has measurable standards. Feminism uplifts individuality; pageants reward sameness.
Perhaps the most blatant hypocrisy appears in the global “body positivity” debate. Beauty organisations preach “women’s freedom” when contestants undress, yet the west part of that world protest when women choose to dress modestly. When a woman wears a bikini—empowerment. When she wears a burka or niqab—oppression. Why is bodily autonomy celebrated only when it aligns with Western fashion norms? True empowerment must allow a woman to reveal or conceal her body without fear of shame or point deductions. Anything less is hypocrisy.
In 1921, a pageant was entertainment. In 2025, with global cinema, short-form content, social media, virtual influencers, streaming platforms, fashion months, philanthropic NGOs, academic competitions, and innovation summits, do we still need a swimsuit parade to identify future leaders? The answer is obvious.
Meanwhile, young women should be at the forefront of climate action, AI innovation, entrepreneurship, political participation, academic excellence, scientific breakthroughs, social welfare mobilisation, peace-building. Instead, millions are encouraged to train for a crown that contributes nothing to solving global problems. Visiting orphanages or refugee camps becomes a photo-op—a performance of compassion rather than a practice of it.
Research reinforces this. A 2019 American Psychological Association study links beauty competitions with higher rates of body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and depression. UN Women reports consistent misrepresentation of women in media that prioritises beauty over intellect. Harvard’s Gender Studies review argues that pageants reinforce structural patriarchy disguised as empowerment. Multiple countries—Norway, Iceland, China, and parts of the UK—have banned child beauty pageants for being harmful and objectifying. The evidence is overwhelming: beauty pageants perpetuate harm, not progress.
If the objective is women’s empowerment, then pageant resources should support women who cannot complete their education due to financial hardship, who abandoned dreams for lack of tuition or business capital. These are the women who need mentorship, counselling, and skill-building, travelling the world for knowledge, because no one knows their stories and no one votes for their ambitions. Imagine a docu-reality programme, infused with glamour if they must, where women are supported for years until they reclaim dignity, rebuild futures, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. That would be empowerment, not the spectacle of a swimsuit & unreal injected face parade.
Another revealing question: if feminism is real, why are there no equivalent global pageants for men? No swimsuit rounds. No “Mr. Universe” with humanitarian platforms. No obsession with men’s waist sizes. No million-dollar grooming camps for boys. The world does not commodify men’s bodies the way it does women’s proof of the misogyny embedded in pageants.
Instead of beauty contests, the world needs impact platforms for women—spaces where talent, intelligence, compassion, problem-solving, and creative innovation are celebrated. Possible alternatives include TV formats that evolve from pageantry to purpose, documenting women’s genuine potential. Global Women’s Innovation Challenges, leadership forums, accelerators grooming women in diplomacy, public speaking, startup incubation, digital literacy, mental health, and ethical leadership. Documenting these approaches can generate new interest in showcasing women’s authentic capability, create an awareness, popularity and trend of true potential. These would create real leaders, not “queens.”
This matters because the world is battling gender-based violence, pay inequality, climate crisis, political instability, AI-driven job displacement, and collapsing mental health among youth. Do we want the next generation to believe the highest honour for a woman is being crowned for beauty? Or to believe she can lead a nation, invent technology, shape policy, cure disease, or become a global thinker?
Why must contestants pose with schoolchildren or stage rehearsed visits to orphanages? Why must they be forced to “invent” social projects—often overnight—to sanitise the image of pageantry and camouflage its original intention: selling beauty as virtue and women’s bodies as branding tools?
After nearly a decade working in women’s empowerment and charitable initiatives, I know the painful truth: countless grassroots organisations are shutting down because they cannot secure funding. Hundreds of real community workers remain invisible because they don’t meet pageant organisers’ glamour requirements : the height and weight chart, the injected cheekbone, the manufactured jawline. Why aren’t they being championed? Why aren’t the women working in refugee camps, without makeup or stylists, being given global platforms? Because this industry does not want impact. It wants imagery.
In a world already saturated with influencers, celebrities, and digital idols, do we really need to manufacture more faces for a fading industry? Social media algorithms replace influencers faster than they rise. Many artists, activists, and celebrities struggle to remain relevant not because they lack talent but because the culture replaces humanity with novelty. So rather than creating new pseudo-celebrities through an outdated, body-based competition, why not bridge what already exists? Why not pair authentic NGOs with underutilised influencers? Why not fund, popularise and promote those young minds who couldn’t afford education but could revolutionise the world if given a chance? Why not build a future where women are selected not for their measurements but for their measurable impact?
Because the world doesn’t need another queen. It needs builders, thinkers, innovators, healers—women whose crowns are their courage, not their cosmetics.
Beauty pageants are relics of a bygone patriarchal era, wrapped in glossy packaging to stay commercially profitable. They do not liberate women; they costume oppression as opportunity. A modern world needs modern platforms. Women deserve arenas that value their intellect, influence, activism, and human depth, not the circumference of their waists. It is time we stop crowning women for beauty and start empowering them for impact.
ABOUT THE WRITER : Alisha Pradhan
ALISHA is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, media personality, and Advocate of women empowerment.
She is the founding CEO of HerNet TV,[2] secretary-general of HerNet Foundation,[3][4] and Chief Curator of HerNet Fine Arts[5][6] Pradhan has been working for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),[7] particularly on Gender equality,[8][9] Youth empowerment,[10][11] and fine arts and cultural diplomacy.[12] She is the first Bangladeshi woman to speak at an international TEDx stage.[13][14][15]
Alisha regularly writes for leading Bangladeshi newspapers. [30]
A Voice of Change from the Global South
Social Entrepreneur | Founder | Cultural Curator | Global SDG Advocate | Writer
She started working at the age 15 & has spent the last 15 plus years transforming lives across South Asia by uplifting women, empowering youth, & preserving cultural identity through art, media, & policy dialogue. Her organisations are built on the principles of inclusivity, empowerment, & sustainable development. Through advocacy, media campaigns, & on-the-ground projects, HerNet has reached thousands of women, artists & young people, equipping them with resources, skills, & platforms to create a meaningful impact in their communities.
HerNet has pioneered inclusivity—promoting women professionals, supporting 300+ empowering exhibitions, mainstreaming third gender by employing them in various role, and amplifying minority struggles while firmly positioning youth empowerment and education at its core.
Alisha envisions HerNet as a global movement across countries & continents, ensuring women have access to knowledge, support, & opportunities & equal human rights for all. Through HerNet Fine Arts & its largest upcoming Art Data Centre of Bangladesh, she is creating global pathways for Bangladeshi artists. She is committed to bridging the gap between grassroots activism & high-level policymaking, bringing real-life challenges to the global stage.
Honored with multiple national & international accolades & awards for outstanding work in social entrepreneurship, gender equality, & youth empowerment. Alisha is a sought-after speaker at national & international forums promoting the SDGs. Her global network of corporates, policymakers, culture, arts & media reflects her influential presence.
Engaged with Presidents, Prime Ministers, Royal Kings, Ministers, & global organization heads on prestigious platforms. Highlights include recognition at the Kosovo Congress on Disability, Nepal Youth Leadership Summit, Qatar NHRC Food Justice Forum with UNDP, World Bank & FAO, India BIMSTEC Summit, award from the President & Prime minister of Bangladesh, the Malaysia International Golf Tournament attended by the Royal King & many more Local prestigious stages. As a young leader, built impactful alliances with 30 plus embassies, UN agencies, Local govt, private local & foreign org, NGOs & global youth platforms, bridging gender, art, media, & activism.