Anyone who thinks beauty pageants are silly hasn’t experienced the seriousness with which the contestants in the Philippines are tested and questioned, trained and described. At the presentation of “Miss Elite Philippines”, an internationally rather insignificant competition, around 40 reporters are already present, asking hard questions: “How did you prepare for your opponents?” one wants to know. “What are your goals when you become Miss Elite World?” asks the next.
MJ Felipe, entertainment editor for the Philippines’ largest news channel ABS-CBN, explains with great seriousness and a kindness that comes from deep within, “In the Philippines we love three Bs: boxing, basketball and beauty pageants”. The beauty pageants will be broadcast during prime time in the island nation of more than 125 million people. There are preliminary and follow-up reports and magazines that deal exclusively with the candidates.
A “Miss” election on TV has to be imagined as a Cinderella story with sashes and tiara, in terms of the staging a mixture of football World Cup broadcast and “Eurovision Song Contest”. It also doesn’t hurt if, as happened in 2021, “Miss World” rips the new crown off her successor’s head in front of the cameras because she hasn’t said that she is divorced. The main thing is drama. “The LGBQT community throws huge parties. There are motorcades when the Philippines wins. And a Miss Universe is driven in convoy through every neighborhood in Manila while people cheer on the side of the road,” explains Felipe, who did not mention his age in the newspaper wants to read, but is happy when people estimate him to be ten years younger than he is.
MJ Felipe (left) has been an entertainment and lifestyle editor for 18 years. The job is tough, but beauty pageants are still “great fun,” he says.
(Photo: private)
The hype started in 1969 when Gloria Diaz became the first Filipino to become “Miss Universe”. She was followed by Margie Moran in 1973; since then there has been no slump in the ratings, on the contrary. ABS-CBN has expanded the program more and more, “although there was a long drought. We won other, less prestigious competitions, but no more Miss Universe – until Pia Ruiz 2015 and Catriona Gray 2018, that was gigantic,” says Felipe. It’s become big business, airtime is valuable, advertising is expensive.
Unfortunately, the “Miss Universe” election 2021 in Hollywood, Florida, was not won, but the event was still a success, at least in terms of marketing. MJ Felipe was present at the final. Hollywood’s mayor was allowed to advertise his city as a venue (“We are so excited and proud”). The president of the hotel group hosting the competition was allowed to advertise his hotel (“There is no greater event than Miss Universe”). The contestants were allowed to promote their countries (“I love the weather here because it reminds me of my home Thailand,” said Amanda Obdam, Miss Universe Thailand 2020). And all of this, of course, fueled by a lot of airtime, Instagram posts, YouTube and Tiktok snippets in which the misses have to be present if they want to win the election and become famous.
Beauty pageants seem outdated in Europe, but the market is growing internationally
MJ Felipe helped transport the messages to the Philippines. He spent a week in Hollywood with two smartphones to film material suitable for broadcast. “I can hardly describe the pressure and stress, I was alone.” He edited the reports himself on a laptop or broadcast them live. He hardly slept that week. Every night he had to commentate for the country’s biggest news program, plus reports for the English-language network, the magazines, the radio. And all this with a twelve-hour time difference. Felipe actually studied physics, but then in 2004 he saw an advert on ABS-CBN and went to an interview, which in turn was more of a competition. He had to assert himself against ten candidates, voice in entertainment stories, cut, produce. MJ Felipe has now been an entertainment and lifestyle editor for 18 years, the job is tough but pageants are still “a lot of fun,” he says.
Working with Missen is more profitable than working with well-known stars. Felipe gives them airtime, they remember him later when they’re Miss Universe, when they go to movies or TV. Then he gets exclusive interview time, “and the nicest thing for a reporter is exclusive stories.” He already visits the training camps where the women prepare themselves. “Because you don’t become a beauty queen overnight, you have to work hard for it. Physically, mentally, improving your social skills and of course your looks.” There are trends and role models, you have to be familiar with them. For years, Filipinos emulated Latinas because Colombians were so successful at the competitions. So it was customary to match the look, down to the hair and makeup, even the evening dresses were ordered in Bogotá.
“We admire our queens, we look up to them. And we’re proud of them.”
After Filipinos finished in the top ten or won the title at every competition in the past ten years, more and more camps opened in Manila, “There are now misses from other countries training for international competitions, women from Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam fly in “. MJ Felipe gets to know her there and establishes contacts that will be useful later. The glamor tailors in Manila are now also supplying candidates in Kenya and Zimbabwe. There is a connection between the insecurity of life in the countries and the enthusiasm for beauty pageants. Beauty is distributed more fairly in the world than wealth. And what is also known from boxing, the other national sport in the Philippines, applies: the poor can beat the rich.
Beauty pageants may seem out of date in Europe, but internationally they are a growing market, particularly in the Philippines. Not only for the candidates, but also for designers, stylists, trainers, hair and make-up specialists and even for competition analysts. An industry has emerged. In general, the competition has changed, from external to more internal criteria. What misses have to say in interviews matters more than it did ten years ago, as does how well they speak English. “Of course, they still have to look good.” On request, MJ Felipe teaches the participants what kind of questions could come their way – to which they should answer as witty, funny or profound as possible. It’s worth the effort, for most women winning a pageant marks the start of a career in entertainment.
MJ Felipe knows that these competitions in Europe are perceived as superficial or are criticized because women are made into objects. “But we admire our queens, we look up to them. And we’re proud of them.” In the Philippines, they are seen as the country’s ambassadors, hence the tough tests beforehand. “It’s also about proving that Filipino beauty is something that can impress the whole world.”