More than a crown: Pacific beauty pageants should also promote public health
- Admin
- 49 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Next month, Hawai’i will host the inaugural Miss Showgirl of the Pacific pageant. But this isn’t just any beauty contest. The pageant is organized by United Territories of The Pacific Islands Alliance (UTOPIA) Hawai’i, a nonprofit that provides affirming spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ Pacific Islanders.
For me, the announcement brought a wave of nostalgia, as I recalled all the ways UTOPIA in San Francisco taught me the importance of community and advocacy.
While the pageant in Hawai’i is meant to showcase true representation, it is also a statement of values. And as I considered other Pacific island pageants, like Miss Heilala, I can’t help but think it’s time for pageant committees to use their platform to support local communities in the ways they need it most.
As a Tongan woman, I paid close attention to this year’s Miss Heilala beauty pageant in the Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago in the South Pacific. Tonga has hosted the Heilala Festival every year since 1980. Named after the national flower, the festival celebrates Tonga’s culture and attracts visitors from all over the world.
Miss Heilala, crowned last month, will spend her reign as a cultural ambassador, attending events globally to encourage tourism and perpetuate the image of Tonga as “The Friendly Islands," a moniker dating to Captain Cook in 1773.
However, in regions like the South Pacific where pageants are one of the only ways to represent culture and invite economic development through tourism, the most important mission of the pageant should not be how the culture is perceived by others, but how the culture is preserved by those who represent it. And part of preserving the culture is taking care of its people.
As a community organizer and public health advocate, I know that Tongans (especially women) face multiple health crises. More than 80 percent of Tongan women are living with obesity; 30 percent of Tongan women are living with Type 2 Diabetes; and 75 percent of all deaths in Tonga are now due to processed imports of canned meat, sugary sodas and snacks – all priced cheaper than locally grown traditional crops.
The outlook is just as bleak across all Pacific island communities. Studies show that death rates for conditions such as lung disease, diabetes and heart disease were five to 15 times higher among Pacific Islander women compared to Asian American individuals.
To be sure, it is not the sole responsibility of the pageant industry to fix the health woes of any local community. But these showcases can be a powerful platform to bring attention to pressing social issues and even spark change.
That was why I was so excited to learn about UTOPIA Hawai’i’s Miss Showgirl of the Pacific pageant. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I remember the launch of the first UTOPIA in the late 1990s. It was created to foster unity and support during a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was heavily hitting the already stigmatized Queer, Trans and Pacific Islanders (QTPI+), also known as Māhū, Vakasalewalewa, Palopa, Fa’afafine, Akava’ine, Fakaleitī and Fakafifine+ (MVPFAFF+) community.
I spent years attending their fundraisers with my mom, as many of its founding members were my moms’ friends and family members from Tonga. From watching them march in the pride parade, to attending drag shows, to my learning hula, my early years witnessing the way UTOPIA San Francisco organized and represented themselves gave me an understanding that representation is crucial and especially powerful when it is hyper focused on providing culturally relevant services and resources.
UTOPIA has since grown. Many of those active in the San Francisco chapter moved to Washington state. Today, UTOPIA Washington is the largest established chapter offering services like youth programs, sex worker empowerment, policy advocacy, mental health services, and leadership training. And yes, there’s also the annual Miss Island Goddess Pageant.
Similarly, UTOPIA Hawai’i provides cultural preservation and education, and wellness programming. Next month’s pageant, which will draw representatives from other UTOPIA chapters all over North America, is an extension of those community services. As people are drawn to the pageantry, they will also be drawn to its mission.
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That is how pageants can best serve the communities they represent by supporting belonging, not elevating questionable beauty standards (alarmingly skin-bleaching creams are increasingly popular among Tongan teens, feeding into ongoing incidents of body shaming and cyberbullying).
Organizers of the Miss Heilala pageant state that the pageant is intended to represent Tongan values and culture. Contestants are not only judged on best sarong, best island creation made up of natural materials and best tau’olunga (traditional dance), but also judged on their understanding of the four golden pillars of Tonga identity: Faka'apa'apa (Respect), Tauhi Vā (Maintaining Relationships), Anga Fakatōkilalo / Lototō (Humility), and Tauhi Vaha'a (Loyalty and Commitment).
Given the broader health crisis, however, it would be more meaningful and impactful to ensure that Miss Heilala – and other Pacific pageants – use their platforms to advance the health, well-being, and resilience of local women.
Caroline Tuipē Marilyn Washington is the founder and president of Decolonise All. She is also a Public Voices fellow on public health with The OpEd Project and Blue Shield of California Foundation.
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