Even beauty queens have insecurities, too. And these insecurities, in this age of social media, are further aggravated by online critics and bashers.
Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray knows that people can get very critical and vocal about their opinions of her. In a recent interview, Ever Bilena’s newest endorser candidly discussed the issues she has to face and admitted, “Even though I am a beauty queen, I also have insecurities. I have been and continue to be a victim of body-shaming online.”
But the harsh comments and criticisms do not faze her.
“I’m human first, beauty queen second. No one has perfect statistics. It really is just about empowering yourself and finding your own worth within yourself,” said the 24-year-old Filipino-Australian stunner.
On social media, Gray wittily responds to her bashers, proving to them that women should not be defined by anyone’s definition of beauty or by “numbers on a tape.”
Instead of letting herself be bothered by online critics, she finds worth in raising awareness about her two main causes: Young Focus, an education-based government organization that gives free education to kids aged 3-6 years old and school sponsorships to older kids; and Love Yourself Philippines, an HIV-AIDS volunteer-run organization.
It was actually her active involvement in charity work that led to her participation in beauty contests.
“I was doing volunteer work at a charity and one of my good friends entered the pageant. When I saw her go through it, I thought about how much more I could do for my cause if I had the platform of a beauty pageant,” related Gray.
Her journey as a beauty queen began when she joined Miss World Philippines in 2016 and was crowned the winner.
This year, she gets a bigger platform as she represents the country in the highly anticipated Miss Universe in December in Thailand.
As part of her preparation, Gray said she had to master the skill of doing her own hair and makeup.
“I’m bringing the EB Superlash Mascara, EB Matte lipsticks in nude and red shades, and EB Face Powder to keep my face oil-free throughout the competition,” she shared.
