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30/09/2022
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by Johnny Rodrigues September 30, 2022 in Lifestyle
Crystal Stewart is attending the 2019 Miss Universe pageant in Atlanta. (Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
When Crystal Stewart was a young girl growing up in Texas, she remembers a friend starting to do pageants.
Stewart tells Yahoo Life, “I never wanted to participate in a contest, to be honest… I was a tomboy.” “I looked at him and I said, ‘Man, I’m not interested. But Stewart’s friend was relentless, and eventually, she competed and entered a local competition.
“I grew up so much and learned a lot about myself — my tenacity, my perseverance, because it took me a while to really win my state pageant,” she tells Yahoo Life. “I just ended up hooked on that. And here I am today.”
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Where she is now, her “not interested” couldn’t be much further from the beginning: the president of the Miss USA organization. As such, she is the first black woman to head the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, and the first person to license the pageant from the Miss Universe Organization.
“It’s an honor,” Stewart, 41, says of her position at the 2022 Miss USA pageant in Reno, which takes place on Monday, October 3 at 8 p.m. ET, and via Hulu Live on the FYI Network. Ready to stream on TV, and via pay-per-view on the Miss USA website. “Hopefully, it’s a privilege to be a role model for other African-American young women or minorities … We need more women in these leadership roles. And to have the opportunity to show that, set our own goals and achieve that success.” Having a goal is like a dream come true.”
Host Steve Harvey talks to Miss USA Elle Smith during the Miss Universe pageant in Israel in December 2021. (Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun)
Her journey to the position has certainly been well-earned: After winning Miss Texas after four attempts in 2008, she won the Miss USA title. She then created a pageant coaching company called Miss Academy (“I think of it as a modern-day finishing school,”) and occasionally works as an actress, among other related endeavors.
“I’ve competed, I’ve decided, I’ve directed a local competition. And so, I think I know what these young girls want, to the details of how much sleep they need! But only Taking also my experience, resources, equipment, networking opportunities… I am also trying to focus more on the competitors and the opportunities they have.
Crystal Stewart was crowned Miss USA in 2008 (Photo: Reuters/Steve Marcus)
Her purpose, as a mentor, is to guide contestants in a way that may seem the opposite of spectacle: “To make sure that beauty isn’t at the forefront,” she says, but helps them figure it out. To help, “What’s the depth you have to offer to the world in general—to your job, your relationship, your family, your friends? Just helping them navigate life, and as a platform.” Using pageant in form.
At least part of Stewart’s inspiration came from another big effort: motherhood. She and her husband are parents to a son, 2, and a daughter, 5, and while balancing work and parenting has been “challenging,” she says, it keeps her focused.
“It’s at the forefront when I wake up in the morning, making sure my kids are proud of me and the legacy I can leave behind, and that I’m a role model for them,” she says. “If I put them at the fore, it makes things easier because they are my priority.”
Stewart’s daughter, who has autism, in particular has taught her a lot about resilience and expectations. “It was challenging in the beginning, when I was first diagnosed,” she says of her initial diagnosis. “You might think the dream you had for your child is over, but it isn’t, and it’s something I learned as he grew up: Those same dreams can still come true.” And while it may involve spectacle, Stewart admits—who once told his girl to “walk in my heels like a pro…she was 4!” – She says, “I won’t force her to do it. It has to be something natural.”
Of course, everything from raising her kids to competing herself has informed her vision of Miss USA, which she calls “pageantry reimagined,” which aims to reject the “stereotypical” image that it is all about. . “The stereotypical image is that cookie cutter image—you have to be of a certain type, your journey is made for you,” she says. “And that’s the image I don’t want people to break into American audiences any more and make it even more relatable.”
That’s a tall order for a pageant owned by former President Donald Trump, which was mired in controversy at times and was actually created in 1952 as a marketing platform for swimsuit company Catalina, leading many to see it as a marketing platform. Began to think of it as a strict beauty pageant. Compared to Miss America, which has given up the swimsuit competition and is working hard to transform itself as a scholarship contest.
But, says Stewart, “I don’t think that’s a fair assessment. With Miss America, they showcase a talent… I think the difference with Miss USA is that they don’t showcase a talent.” But we gave our Miss Teen USA winner $25,000 in scholarships and also increased Miss USA’s salary as a job. It’s a working woman, you know. She’s not just doing photo shoots all day. “
It’s true that Miss USA has expanded her horizons in a number of ways in recent years, including high-profile contestants who, by wearing their hair naturally, spoke about issues such as bipolar disorder, Down syndrome and homelessness. By talking in, and being made an impact. Bisexual or transgender.
“We want all women of all sizes, colors, creeds to be involved in the pageant industry,” Stewart says of her vision for Miss USA. “And they define their journey: What’s your platform? What are you interested in? What do you love doing? Now that’s what we focus on. Helping them define their journey in the pageant industry. She refrains from calling Miss USA a “feminist” effort, but only because “it can have a negative connotation,” she says, “that it’s women’s empowerment.”
She explains that among the responsibilities of reigning Miss USA is working with Elle Smith charitable partner Smile Train and delivering motivational speeches. “We go beyond beauty and look deeper. Is she a beautiful woman? Yes. Does she put herself together? Does she work out? Is she physically fit? Is she mentally fit? Is it healthy? Yes. Those are things we encourage.”
When it comes to swimsuit competition, she says.
“Absolutely. They have a swimsuit contest. I know what it did to me. I was very insecure about my body type… but going into it and winning the swimsuit contest in my first competition made me feel better about my body.” I felt more confident about myself, which made me want to care more about it. I started eating better, started working out… and just became the best version of myself. So, it’s just for men. Not for them to sit outside and look at you like ‘ooh’.
Her aim is to open the pageant more to “different body types”. [while] Promote a healthy lifestyle,” she adds. “And that doesn’t mean you have to be a size two.”
Another goal is to bring a more youthful audience into the fold – something that was definitely top of mind when redesigning the Miss USA website with the impressive feel includes its millennial-pink color scheme.
“When I think of re-imagining, I think of the whole shebang. I’m very detail-oriented. So we changed not only the website, but the social media platform as well… That much, was very, very important. And since Miss USA is an influencer and they go on these different digital platforms, we have to make sure it’s established [for that] And that can stand next to what we were talking about in reimagining,” which includes, she says, “with a blush tone” and “skewing that younger demographic.”
On who can win the Miss USA crown, she emphasizes, “It’s not just physical beauty… “All things are scored equally,” she says. “So you have to be just as beautiful.” You are intelligent and able to speak confidently. We want well rounded girls.”
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