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14/11/2018
Aroha Awarau 12:31, Nov 14 2018
Miss World NZ using her dark past to light others' lives
CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF
Jessica Tyson, the 2018 Miss World NZ representative, is using her dark past to shed light for others.
A Kiwi beauty queen who survived childhood sexual abuse is one of the favourites to win MIss World, according to a pageant website.
Not since Lorraine Downes won Miss Universe 35 years ago has a contestant from New Zealand won a major international beauty pageant and Missosology.org, a website dedicated to pageants, reckons Jess Tyson could break that streak at the Miss World finals in December.
Many other pageant blogs from fans also have Tyson as a frontrunner.
"It's a blessing having this attention because we are a small country and pageants aren't as big here as they are overseas. I'm not taking these predictions seriously, because I don't want to get my hopes up," Tyson says.
Tyson, a digital journalist at Māori Television, arrived in China last week for the month long competition.
A pageant veteran who won her first beauty contest at 15, Tyson says being a beauty queen has helped her heal.
She says competing at Miss World has been a lifelong dream and she won the New Zealand title in May at her second attempt. She dismisses the idea that pageants are degrading to women.
"Since I've spoken out about my experience, so many young women have reached out to me and told me that my story has changed their lives.
"I'm a lot more confident now and I'm not afraid to speak my truth. What I've gained from being a beauty queen is so much bigger than just wearing a sash and crown."
Miss World New Zealand director Desmond Foulger says this is the first time a candidate from New Zealand has been tipped to win so early in the competition.
"This is all her hard work. She's a very strong competitor."
The Miss World final will be held in Sanya, China, on December 8.
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