My bone to with Miss Supranational South Africa 2024🇿🇦 and pageantry as a whole part 1

Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beautiful people!

I have waited the entire month of July for Bryoni to say something. To thank the Miss Supranational and Miss South Africa organisations. She has finally changed her bio and accepted her Miss Supra Africa 2024 title but what of the responsibilities that come with the continental crown? I am deeply disappointed that she has gone back to just showing us adverts.

 I was expecting her and Fezile to come home together and do a nationwide tour on radio and tv, making appearances together as our country's ambassadors.🇿🇦 Possibly even having them both attend the Miss South Africa finals, maybe even be judges!👀

I was expecting a lot more from her but I keep on being disappointed as a pageant fan. Not just by her but also by previous titleholders. These beautiful women have so many young boys and girls looking at them, at their every move and taking it all in. These women set standards and break barriers and influence culture. Why are they not utilising this for the greater good?

I firmly believe that beauty pageants are a platform of service and leadership. Why does this beautiful, fragile platform feel so shallow? I call pageantry fragile because it is so easy to hurt or inspire someone that you do not even know. To me that's a basic definition of fragility.

I am disappointed because I feel that these role models are showing people that it's okay to quit. That it's okay to start a degree and not acquire your license. That it's okay to make promises, to claim to want to help but fail dismissally to do so. In doing so they then, become apart of the problem with leadership in our country.

What happened to the tuberculosis campaign, Mindful Mondays, the resources and knowledge to help high schoolers become entrepreneurs, Ed-Unite, Her Way Out, Destiny Designed, etc. There are countless campaigns that have been dropped like a hot potato. Why?

For so many these advocacies were hope being given back to them. To be able to see women who look like them, who come from where they come from. Seeing these women rise and take their citizens with them. Otherwise, what's the point? Only one girl wins the R1 million, so why should we care?

We care because they represent beauty, discipline, grace, kindness and importantly a better, brighter future.

I have silent for so long, hoping that the next title holder will actually be a woman of her word. A woman who cares and takes her people along with her, just we take her along in prayer, comradary and celebration. 

Bryoni's advocacy pushed me over the edge. I have had quite a turbulent childhood and I truly believed that she was different, that she was serious. I truly believed that she would have helped 10-year-old me and even all the struggling mothers and women trying to find their way out of a nightmare relationship. I was so happy and grateful and I became so invested because I know how it feels to just want out and want peace and stability.

Knowledge is power, people perish for lack of knowledge. I truly believed that she would bridge that gap. I cannot begin to express my immense disappointment! I came with a million excuses for her. I was hoping for her to come home and hit the ground running as she now has a new, bigger title. But she was busy touring Europe, without even taking a moment to properly acknowledge her country and the support that we gave her! 

I am saddened by the state of pageantry especially in my country. 

Part 2 will be next week! 

Question of the week: How do you feel about the state of pageantry in South Africa and about title holders and their never ending promises and cute speeches without much consistent action?

All my love ❤️

Ruthy