BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history dissipate in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
Alejandra Marisa Rodríguez, a legal consultant whose entry into the competition was hailed as a triumph over ageism in a youth-obsessed world, fell short of the Miss Argentina crown. But she took home the title of “best face,” one of several categories in the pageant, including best evening dress, best swimsuit and most elegant.
During the pageant she thanked everyone who celebrated her success in the Miss Buenos Aires pageant last month. Her victory there, after Miss Universe eliminated its old age limit, generated a frenzy of global media attention that catapulted her from obscurity to local fame.
In an instant, the soft-spoken lawyer from the city of La Plata, south of Buenos Aires, was doling out moisturizer tips to women striving to achieve that surreally smooth face and promising her audience that the adage that age is just a number was true. .
“As a result of what happened to me, I believe a new door has opened for a lot of people who may not have had an easy life,” Rodríguez told The Associated Press backstage after the event, still dressed in her red cocktail dress with slits revealing her appearance. legs. “It was an adventure and I had no expectations about it other than accepting a new challenge.”
For the swimsuit portion of the Miss Argentina pageant, Rodríguez chose a modest one-piece suit with a shawl draped over her shoulders, giving the crowd a twerk as fans screamed and blew horns.
But the judges preferred Magali Benejam, a 29-year-old actress and model from Córdoba who donned a tiny blue bikini and sky-high stilettos to win “best swimsuit” and ultimately beat out the other 27 contestants to be crowned Miss Argentina .
“I am very excited and grateful to be here because the competition was not easy,” Benejam told AP. She will represent Argentina in Mexico City at the global competition in November.
Even Benejam’s victory would have been impossible a year ago, as the contest had long capped the age of contestants at 28. This year, for the first time in its 73-year history, the Miss Universe contest is welcoming any participant over 18 years of age. .
It’s just the latest in a series of changes to a pageant that has been a lightning rod for feminist criticism since “bra burning” protests toppled the 1968 Miss America pageant.
For decades, the Miss Universe pageant openly described itself as an extravaganza of single women in their late teens and twenties strutting their stuff for the judges to assess their appearance and personality. As more and more people found this worrying, organizers realized how far behind the culture the contest was.
In recent years, as #MeToo and social justice movements swept the world, Miss Universe raced to convince skeptics that it was more about minds and spirits than bodies.
He eliminated many controversial eligibility requirements, opening the field to married women, pregnant women, and lesbians. and transgender womenand rejected all mention of “beauty” on its website.
However, as the contest highlighted empathy, confidence and authenticity as feminine ideals, the mentions of “young woman” remained in place and, with them, the ban on crow’s feet.
While many women praised Rodriguez’s decision to compete at age 60, others questioned whether she was setting an unreasonable standard for older women. Her award-winning face, statuesque figure and chiseled features made her blend in with the younger group on stage.
“This is contributing to the feeling that everyone should be able to look like this, all 60-year-old women should look youthful and fresh, as if they were 25,” said Lala Pasquinelli, an Argentine feminist activist. “If they don’t, it’s because they’re not willing to make sacrifices.”
