Even if you aren’t a pageant fan, I’m almost certain that you’ve heard about the drama surrounding the current Miss Universe pageant. Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch Fernandez, was verbally berated at the sash ceremony by the the National Director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, which led to Bosch and many other contestants to leave the room in protest of Itsaragrisil and against the disrespect that Bosch was given as a contestant.
First, I want to talk a bit about Bosch herself and what has led her to the important title of Miss Mexico. Bosch is the first woman from the Mexican state of Tabasco to win the title of Miss Mexico, and she has used her platform to bring awareness of dyslexia and adult hyperactivity disorder, both of which Bosch had been bullied for in her youth. She first gained popularity after winning the Flor de Oro crown in Tabasco in 2018, which kickstarted her professional pageant career. She is no stranger to some drama. In fact, when she was announced the winner of Miss Mexico during the pageant in September, the crowd booed at the decision and Bosch was only congratulated by four of her fellow contestants. Bosch however didn’t let this diminish her victory instead saying that she’d rather only get four hugs from people that she knew genuinely cared about her than ones from people who didn’t. She also stated that she felt like the situation was handled very childlike and that no one should have to experience that.
Bosch was welcomed back home to Tabasco after her Miss Mexico win with a parade celebrating her victory. She was joined on her float by the four contestants that celebrated her win with her and she gave a very moving speech about sisterhood before closing it by saying that she will do her best to represent Mexico in the way the country deserves.
Needless to say, after all the controversy shrouding her Miss Mexico win, Bosch was excited to go to Thailand to compete in Miss Universe but unfortunately, that was short lived. During the sash ceremony on November 4, Itsaragrisil, who was moderating the event, singled out Bosch for not promoting the home country of the pageant, Thailand, on her social media as he had told the contestants to do. He claimed that Bosch was following the orders of the Mexican pageant director and when Bosch stood up to defend herself, Itsaragrisil called her a “dumb head.” Bosch immediately was not going to allow herself to be talked to like that and told Itsaragrisil that she has a voice and that he will not disrespect her like that. Security was then summoned at the call of Itsaragrisil but Bosch had already gathered her things and was calmly making her way out of the room, followed by several other contestants, including the reigning Miss Universe, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark. Itsaragrisil angrily attempted to keep the contestants in the room telling them to sit down but in solidarity they left the room, all of them saying that disrespect on any level will not be tolerated in this competition.
Since then, Itsaragrisil has apologized for his actions but he is also denying calling Bosch any derogatory terms — despite the entire dispute being livestreamed — and the pageant is still scheduled to continue on November 20. Itsaragrisil has since been restricted from the pageant and will have a very limited role in the 79th Miss Universe pageant. The pageant’s president, Raul Roscha, communicated this decision on a video posted to the Miss Universe platforms on the same day the incident happened, speaking in Spanish, seemingly directly at Bosch.
Many, including Bosch, are seeing this incident as a much more pressing issue about the way that women — especially women in the pageant industry — are treated. In an interview afterwards, Bosch said, “I just want to let my country know, I’m not afraid to make my voice heard. It’s here stronger than ever. I have a purpose. I have things to say. We’re in the 21st century. I’m not a doll to be made up, styled and have my clothes changed,” she added, “I came here to be a voice for all the women and all the girls who fight for causes and to tell my country that I’m completely committed to that.”
This raises another difficult conversation; why is it so common for women, even when they are at the top of their profession, to be belittled by men? It is certainly a question that has been asked for generations but Bosch is correct. We are in the 21st century, why is this still so common? A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 42% of women still experience gender based discrimination in the workforce every single day. They found that there are numerous ways that this discrimination comes to fruition, either by the gender wage gap or by sexual misconduct in the workplace. Generations of gender discrimination has made it so that women can never feel safe, not even when they’re at the peak of their profession. Take Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, for example. The president of a country was groped in public by a drunk man who decided that despite her high position that she was nonetheless a woman for him to use. We as the human race, have a lot of work to do for us to even take baby steps towards solving this issue and many would even say that it is impossible under a patriarchal society. I say that if we truly began to unravel the lies that have been set up to make women seem lesser, we could one day have a much more cohesive, peaceful, and joyous world. Of course, that is optimistic and I understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I can’t help but feel happy when I see women — especially women with similar backgrounds to me — stand up against the men that belittle them and remind the world that we are not dolls, we are humans and we have a voice.