When talking about pageants that first thing that pops to mind is usually that the girls who compete for the crown are unintelligent, stick-thin and catty. But at the Mrs Singapore World Grand Finals held at Resorts World Sentosa earlier this week, we found out that those assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth.
After a three-month process, one woman who embodied what the judges were looking for in the next Mrs Singapore 2016/17 emerged victorious: 36-year-old mother of two, Yusnimah Bousigues, beat out 19 other wonderful ladies to take the crown and the coveted title and will represent Singapore at the Mrs World pageant held in South Korea next year.

After her victory lap, Yusnimah was warmly embraced by her fellow contestants showcasing the camaraderie and friendship that was formed between the women over the last few months. So who says beauty queens have to be drama queens?! Read on to find out what other myths people should stop believing about pageantry and what really goes on behind the scenes of a top beauty pageant:
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People believe that women who compete in beauty pageants are self-centered and expect the world to revolve around them, when in actuality the contestants at Mrs Singapore World were the complete opposite. They were women who gave back, put others first and raised the profile of their communities.
Many people assume that pageant winners are decided way beforehand and that judges tend to play favourites meaning that not all girls are given a fair chance. But the judging system is usually meticulous in its awarding of points so cheating or favouritism has no bearing.
This is probably the biggest misconception surrounding beauty queens who are often labelled unkindly but at the Mrs Singapore World pageant, most of the ladies are extremely smart and have high-flying careers in addition to poise and good looks.
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Many people think that pageants demoralise women because they have put on makeup, high heels and bathing suits in order to gain approval from other people. In reality pageants often help women gain confidence in public and develops their interview skills along with poise and grace.
While many beauty pageant contestants tend to be on the skinnier side this is by no means the norm. At Mrs Singapore World, contestants are encouraged to be healthy and focus on weight maintenance via exercise and keeping fit instead of being drastically underweight.
Beauty queens are real people too and they will have their off days when they don’t want to put on a pair of towering heels or wear make-up. Thankfully, they don’t have to! After all, in pageantry, it’s not about how you look on the outside because it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
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