On her return, crowned the new Miss World and before she left for the competition, Giselle La Ronde, sat down with me for an exclusive tete-a-tete.
Still in heady excitement of winning the Trinidad and Tobago Miss World Title, on the eve of flying off to the international Miss World competition, Giselle stopped by the South Bureau of the Trinidad Guardian for a chit-chat. I was but a cub reporter, just a few days into journalism. In the building-up to the show, I sort out her influencers – teachers – who shared anecdotes of her focus grit and determination.
Pencil Thin
‘She still wants to shed a few more pounds before the competition,’ her former teacher Justin Paul shared, assuring that she will do it. The pressure on contestants to maintain pencil thin physiques was high, unlike the girls in this year’s competition who come in all shapes, weights, sizes and orientations.
On her return, too, crowned Miss World, I met her at the airport for another exclusive interview! By this time I had already been shuttled to the newspaper headquarters in the city!
In a recent encounter, she recalled it was the first interview she did and asked me to share this so I went rummaging through my archives of 30 years of journalism and unearthed this.
Giselle, awarded the National Chaconia Medal for her representation of Trinidad and Tobago, move into public relations following her year of service. It kept us looped.
Gender Empowerment and Beauty Contentions
In the checkered history of winning beauty contestants in Trinidad and Tobago, the imbalance of focus on women’s beauty versus brains have often surfaced.
Over the years, the nature of women and beauty contests surfaced. In one, a reporter/anchor of the newest television station on the landscape, affiliated to the Trinidad Guardian, entered a bidding competition, the proceeds of which was going to charity, was chastised by head of the gender movement Hazel Brown (deceased). Single, Sexy, Sold! The winning bidder was the Minister of Tourism!
Queen Wendy’s Column and Street Sign
Following her win and whirlwind world tour, the second Trinidad and Tobago woman to win the Miss Universe title, Wendy Fitzwilliam, wrote an opinion column while I was Editor of the Sunday Guardian. in this she shared her thoughts and experiences.
When I formerly joined the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women as Director of International Relations, Outreach and Education, Hazel Brown’s intense aversion to beauty queen contests continued to surface, and with good cause. Elimination of the objectification of women and women’s bodies was the raison d’ etre of the Network.
The borough corporation sought to honour Wendy’s win by naming a street for her. She also received a National Chaconia Medal Gold! She was from the district in which gender activist Hazel Brown lived. One morning the district awoke to find the street sign blackened out. In the dark of night, someone had painted over the sign!
The police had no proof, as they sought to lay charges!
The island knew who would have done it!
First Miss Universe from Trinidad and Tobago
Not to be outdone, the Port of Spain City Corporation later changed the name of the central street in the capital city, named for the Queen of England, for the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago to win the Miss Universe Competition, Janelle-Penny. Janelle-Penny is iconic as the first woman of colour to wear the Miss Universe Crown. She had become a successful businesswoman in the years following her crowning and was awarded the highest national ward, the Trinity Cross,
When I visited the Dominican Republic to discuss heritage initiatives, I was put up at the Hotel which hosted the girls in that competition of 1977. The Hotel’s lobby had a photo gallery of theevent and the room I was alotted was littered with photos of Janelle-Penny at the competition! Coincidental, I think not. The Hotel was making its guests feel at home!
I did not get a chance to share that with Janelle as I exchanged light banter with the King of the Mas and her, Peter Minshall, on the evening of receiving the National Award for the Development of Women and Journalism, but I share it now! Our women, crowned beauty queens of the World and Universe, or not continue to shine light on our small island place.
Best wishes to the women representing the Caribbean in this year’s competition! Use it well!
AI’s Assessment of this Post
– The content provides a personal account and anecdotes related to beauty pageants in Trinidad and Tobago.
– It highlights the pressure on contestants to maintain a certain physique and the imbalance between beauty and intelligence in these competitions.
– The post also mentions incidents related to the objectification of women and controversy surrounding beauty queens.
– It concludes with well wishes to this year’s Caribbean representatives in the competition.
About Dr Kris Rampersad
Dr Kris Rampersad is a development specialist, award winning journalist, gender and culture empowerment educator, Woman Techmaker’s Ambassador and Google Digital Skills Ambassador. Find out more here
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