Empowerment in Representation

As a feminist, I am not sure where to stand on beauty pageants. Should I be unsupportive because of the sexualization of women worldwide and objectification to a body part or a "torso size"? Should I be supportive because of the contestants that claim these pageants actually empower women to be comfortable in their own skin and gives them educational opportunities? I am not sure. What I do know is that this is painfully controversial. Pageants were originally tailored towards the male gaze. Women of impossible figures went on a stage and competed for the title of who was the most beautiful on the exterior. 2018 Miss Universe, Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers explains, pageants now are no longer about exterior beauty, but much more about being empowered as a woman, and feeling comfortable in her own skin, yet, she did not go into detail how. I listened to her as she defended things like the bikini portion by saying, "We all go to the beach and don't complain." and I struggled to buy any of it. Sure, women who are competing for these titles are empowered in their own skin, but they're also a size 0, have never had any children, have a "perfect uterus" (as John Oliver puts it), and have body parts that are considered to be attractive to others. How can I say that watching a pageant is empowering if all I see on my screen are a bunch of women who I will never look like? Who seems to be impossibly beautiful? Who I do not see on a daily basis? For me, pageants are another way for little girls to look up and have this altered perception of beauty. Saying things like, "Wow, I wish I looked like those women." I do want to acknowledge the platforms these women stand for. Most of the contestants stand for worldwide issues such as the stereotype of world hunger, or even cyberbullying, body-image issues, the end to animal abuse, the list goes on. It is admirable for these women to use these pageants to promote these messages, but part of me still struggles with it all. This is weird to say, but it is hard to believe a message of "Love yourself." or "You're beautiful just the way you are." from a person who gained fame for her beauty. For me to stand by pageants there needs to be a radical change. Although Miss Universe has aided the diversity in ethnic cultures, and in some cases socioeconomic status, it has not provided diversity in age, sexual orientation, and especially body size. The article Miss America 2 points out that administratively they are attempting to change pageants to make them more into the competition than it is a pageant by removing the bikini section and allowing "contestants to wear what they want". The article points out that drastic change is unlikely. At the end of the day, pretty skinny woman is what sells, so my hope to see a bigger woman, a woman with children, a woman with disabilities, LGBTQ woman and so forth is unlikely. As much as these pageants serve the purpose to empower woman, or educate them, they are in fact a business which acts based on what money is coming in, which as we know as a lot. Beauty pageants have their origins of attracting a big audience, but would pageants attract these audiences if the pageant administration was to make a complete change as to what they accept/stand for? (Blame this capitalism thought on Shantanu, haha.) I think pageants can be empowering if there was actual representation of women on the screen, women who are not a size 0, women who are not stunning, women who are real and can use their voice to convince an audience that they are worthy of such an extravagant scholarship. If this does not occur then maybe America needs to fund organizations that are designed for all women, rather than specific women who fit into these absurd boxes. Yet, I do not believe America is ready for this conversation or is ready for radical change. A girl can dream.