“As a judge on this pivotal stage, it was important to me to bring my background and understanding of the world through my immigrant, female and South Asian lens. I chose to wear this outfit on the red carpet and at the events as a nod to my culture and also because that’s what I feel most beautiful and confident in. It was a moment for others to see who the real me is,” she told Vogue India.
Diversity was also showcased through the contestants themselves who came from different socioeconomic statuses, body types, backgrounds, nationalities and career aspirations. This was a stark deviation from previous outings, where critics disapproved of the Miss America competition imposing unrealistic beauty standards on young women and prioritising their physical stature over their inward beauty and capability. In recent years, the program has been revamped to be inclusive of more than one version of beauty.
“This is no longer called a beauty pageant, but a scholarship for social causes such as autism, childhood cancer advocacy or sex trafficking,” Shewakramani added. “What was most important to me in choosing Miss America 2023 was her intelligence and drive. Each contestant had to present a business plan about how they would use their platform to make a social impact and their respective plans through their tenure,” Shewakramani added.
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