A 60-year-old woman from Buenos Aires announces change as her tenure as Miss Universe comes to a close.
Alejandra Rodriguez grabbed global attention in April when she was proclaimed Miss Buenos Aires, scoring a historic victory as the first person over sixty to win a contest run by the Miss Universe franchise.
Despite not being crowned Miss Argentina on Saturday and thus missing the opportunity to represent her nation at the Miss Universe pageant, Rodriguez bagged the "best face" award. She viewed her milestone as a sign of an impending shift in beauty perceptions.
"This is the precursor to a shift that's happening," Rodriguez, a lawyer and journalist by profession, remarked to CNN en Español post-contest.
"Exterior beauty is important, and it's not wrong to choose a beautiful woman," she reflected. "But maybe the concept of beauty should be broadened."
Rodriguez's inclusion in the contest was only made possible by the Miss Universe organization's adjustment to their age regulations.
From 2023, contestants no longer had to be between 18 and 28 years old on January 1st of the year they were competing. For every year henceforth, there would be no upper age limit.
"It was a positive change, and I think it's like all changes - gradual," she expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to break new ground.
The Miss Universe organization unveiled a slew of additional rule changes aimed at modernizing the pageant in 2023. For the first time, it permitted the participation of married or divorced women, as well as those who had given birth or were currently pregnant.
"There was a 40-year-old woman, another one who was 37; the limits are already expanding," Rodriguez highlighted. "There were women who were mothers. These things would have been unimaginable in Miss Universe before."
Though she didn't triumph in representing her country, she was hopeful that beauty, age, shape, and weight stereotypes were undergoing changes.
The victor on Saturday was Magalí Benejam, who, at 29, would have previously been disqualified due to her age.
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Rodriguez believed that the shift she represented in the Miss Universe pageant was a precedent for a broader change in beauty perceptions not just in Argentina, but across the Americas. The Miss Universe organization's rule changes, allowing older contestants and permitting the participation of married or divorced women, were evident in the increasing diversity of contestants, with women from various age groups and backgrounds participating in the pageant.
Source: edition.cnn.com
