Controversy after 100-year-old beauty pageant is canceled

The cancellation of the nearly 100-year-old Miss Netherlands pageant reflects the challenges in the development trend of beauty contests in recent years.

December 13, newspaper CNN post an article saying Miss Netherlands - a nearly 100-year-old beauty pageant - was canceled, surprising many people. The reason the organizers gave for this decision was "The world is changing and we must change with it".

Previously, the 103-year-old Miss America beauty pageant filed for bankruptcy. In fact, in recent years, beauty pageants have faced many economic difficulties as well as audience indifference.

The world is changing

In the announcement of the end of the Miss Netherlands contest, the organizers stated: "After many years of history, Miss Netherlands will say goodbye to the name that has been loved by many people. But this is not the end but a new beginning. The world is changing and we must change with it."

The change that the Miss Netherlands organizers mentioned reflects the changes in the public's definition of beauty standards in beauty pageants.

To respond to this change, many major beauty pageants have had to modernize because the values that traditional programs have always promoted are considered no longer relevant to the younger generation.

The 2024 Miss Universe pageant to be held in Mexico will accept women over the age of 28. Previously, Miss Miss Universe is the first beauty pageant to allow married or childbearing women, and even transgender people, to participate.

In 2023, Miss Netherlands also changed its criteria to approach the new trend. This season witnessed the coronation of transgender beauty Rikkie Valerie Kollé. This is unprecedented in the nearly 100-year history of the Miss Netherlands pageant.

Audiences are increasingly unpredictable

Despite efforts to change, competition organizers still face increasingly unpredictable public reactions.

Monica van Ee - Director of Miss Netherlands - shared with CNN about the increasingly uncontrollable reactions of viewers to the Miss Netherlands pageant. They often complain "she's too white" or "she's too dark". "This causes negative energy", Monica said.

Miss Netherlands 2023 Rikkie Valerie Kollé received a lot of negative reactions from the public after being crowned because she is transgender. She was criticized and even received many death threats.

"I think people have become really accepting of transgender people in the Netherlands, but the hateful comments are showing the dark side of society. I hope this is a wake-up call," Rikkie Valerie Kollé shared.

What is the way forward for beauty pageants?

Beauty pageants are facing major challenges.

Many people believe that beauty pageants have passed their peak and are gradually declining. Currently, the beauty pageant industry is still popular in the Americas and Southeast Asia, but in other regions it has cooled down.

In Europe, the Netherlands is not a country that favors beauty queens. On the whole continent, only France is interested in beauty queens. Miss France is considered the most magnificent and attractive national beauty pageant.

Faced with these challenges, the Miss Netherlands pageant has pivoted, establishing a new foundation called Niet Meer Van Deze Tijd (No More), focusing on mental health, social media, diversity, self-expression...

The organizers hope that through this platform they can inspire young people to be themselves in an ever-changing world.

Meanwhile, many other pageants are still trying to maintain traditional values in the face of change. In September, a woman in New York filed a complaint with the city’s Human Rights Commission, demanding an end to the exclusion of mothers from beauty pageants.

Many people believe that despite positive changes, beauty pageants are inevitably saturated and facing difficulties in the context of a global economic downturn. In addition, contests also have to face public criticism in an era of strong social media development.

Source