On Sunday, December 8, 2019, Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe. And although many of us (myself included) celebrate the moment as a historic triumph for women of color with curly and short, textured hair, we sadly realize that there is still much to progress the opinions of people, especially the comments of Latinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night my family and I sat down to watch the competition. We watched the last stage of the pageant. I admit that the women of the house did not want to see the show, but thanks to my dad’s insistence we watched it. And I admit it was worth giving in and watching it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because we are a Hispanic, we decided to watch through Telemundo’s programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We tuned into the program amid the swimsuit competition. Immediately after the participants paraded in their bikinis, we started a conversation about the absurdity of this kind of competition. I agree with celebrating human beauty, but I have my reservations about the extreme level of criticism to a woman’s physical appearance. Anyway.. We watched the show while offering opinions that would not go beyond our family room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, it was time to ask the finalists a question. While we listened to the answers, it was obvious that there was one that stood well above the rest. In our opinion, it was the way she radiated confidence, her authenticity, her eloquence and her answers to the final questions that put her above the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“I think the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership. It’s something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time. Not because we don’t want to but because of what society has labelled women to be. I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity. And that is what we should be teaching these young girls to take up space. Nothing is as important as taking up space in society and cementing yourself, thank you.”<\/p>\nZozibini Tunzi<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
While two finalists (Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Mexico) focused on issues that sound good (<\/a>like self-acceptance and <\/a>authenticity, respectively) that may prove superficial in the long run due to the focus on appearance; only one of the three finalists proposed something that has the potential to change society: Leadership for young women. And even if we had no vote in the matter, my family and I bet that Zozibini Tunzi would win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, her closing statement was very accurate and sincere:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me with my kind of skin and my kind of hair was never considered to be beautiful. I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\nZozibini Tunzi<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In the world she grew up, I and many others have grown up. And as I’ve said before, it takes courage to show your natural self to the world.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a way to take advantage of the “trending topic” of the night, Telemundo did not resist the opportunity for an after show and immediately after the Miss Universe was crowned, it began the program “<\/a>Celebrating the Crown” (in Spanish). After watching for a few minutes, I was surprised and disappointed at the lack of sensitivity of the communicators, presenters, commentators, etc. when describing the new Miss Universe. Some were better than others, and I did notice the difference. And even if they did not have any bad intentions, it should be noted that they can improve their commenting on beauty and people of color in general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact that she won has given much to talk about. And in an era where everyone tries to stay relevant, many reactions were made known. However, I would like to focus on two in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Very different style”<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
First, it was obvious that everyone danced around the winning queen’s physical appearance and none found the words “politically correct” to describe her. For me it was remarkable the fact that many seemed to think something similar and nobody dared to say it directly: That a woman of color, with short textured hair beats all the others, was surprising and unfair. I would like to celebrate those who recognized Zozibini Tunzi’s excellent eloquence because I agree with them. However, that should not distract from the fact that in addition to eloquent SHE is beautiful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n