
<p>Yesterday was the 2020 Miss Universe finale where Miss Mexico Andrea Meza was crowned the winner. Although it was a spectacular show, <strong>there are a few things the 69 year-old pageant can improve on:</strong>



<p><strong>1. Further embrace diverse beauty.</strong> You may be wondering, how could a pageant with over 70 countries competing each year not already feature diverse beauty? While there are several girls that look uniquely different, for most contestants, due to social media and globalization, the beauty standard has been somewhat standardized. Just look at how many contestants have long straight hair or soft curls, high cheek bones, smokey eyes, and tight-fitted dresses. It was hard to tell them apart a lot of the time despite them all having different backgrounds! 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://media.interaksyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/rabiya-mateo-top-21-miss-universe.jpg" alt="In Manila, vaccinees get free Miss Universe livestream too"/><figcaption>Image source: YouTube / Miss Universe</figcaption></figure>



<p>2019 winner Zozi&#8217;s presence was one of the most memorable to date because of how different she looked &#8211; from her short hair which she decided to leave natural because she was finally embracing her authentic self, to her preliminary and evening gowns that hint at her South African roots. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img src="https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/9574/8e6fd3a17fb446c1a17c9300256146a5.jpg" alt="Fashion Police: What Miss Universe 2019 wore on her crowning night | Citypress" width="374" height="562"/><figcaption>Image source: Miss Universe </figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong>2. Embracing different body types.</strong> The pageant may have embraced different nationalities, but they definitely have not welcomed bigger body sizes. Pretty much all the girls are extremely thin. Many are even known to starve themselves for weeks before the pageant. This has a very detrimental effect on how young girls perceive themselves. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="http://media.philstar.com/images/the-philippine-star/nation/20170126/02_MISS-CANADA-siera-bearchell.jpg" alt="Miss Canada and Ashley Graham on body diversity in Miss Universe | Philstar.com"/><figcaption>Image source: Miss Universe</figcaption></figure>



<p>A notable contestant was Sierra Bearchell or Miss Canada 2016 who stood out amongst judges for not being a size 0. She was tired of all those prior pageant years of dieting that she decided to embrace her natural curves. This landed her in the top 9. However, not many have followed her example since.



<p><strong>3. The swimsuit portion. </strong>It&#8217;s boring. At least the preliminary even gown competition lets you glance at the spectacular dresses each contestant chose to wear and can spin it in various way. Here, the girls are literally put into the same three colours and it goes on for an hour or two. By the time you get to the letter C in the list of countries, you already want to tune out. They should at least get them to dance or pick out their own swimsuits. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="http://missosology.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fs.jpg" alt="Top 15 showstoppers at the swimsuit prelims of the 69th Miss Universe - Missosology"/><figcaption>Image source: Miss Universe </figcaption></figure>



<p><strong>4. Have awards for various categories before the crowning.</strong> Of course not everyone can be the winner, but they can award different categories such as Miss Congeniality, best evening gown, etc. Miss Universe has a few of these awards but they are rarely given screen time during the announcement which is a shame because that&#8217;s one of the most exciting parts. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://larepublica.pe/resizer/1-43KTH1Jq1oBSk0UG7lnxku10E=/1200x660/top/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gruporepublica/CDYYLRRVWNEQNNXPXPI5ENUTSA.jpg" alt="Miss Universe: Miss Bolivia wins the award for the Best Impact Project – Pledge Times"/><figcaption>Image source: Miss Universe</figcaption></figure>



<p><strong>4. The rushed crowning moment</strong>. How has the absurdly fast crowning moment of the top 5 contestants not been done differently yet? They build up suspense for the past hour letting us know who the top 5 is and just within the last 10 minutes, announce the runner-ups in the least climatic way possible and rush them off to the side. It&#8217;s so frustrating! 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2020/10/11/894529.jpg" alt="Thai-Canadian model crowned Miss Universe Thailand | The Star"/></figure>



<p>What are some things you wish Miss Universe should do differently? 
 <!-- start: .epcl-banner --> 
 <div class="epcl-banner textcenter mobile-grid-100 epcl-banner-single_paragraph " style="margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 25px;"> 
 
 </div> 
 <!-- end: .epcl-banner --> 
 <div class="clear"></div>



<p><strong>For more celebrity news, fashion tips, and lifestyle advice, check out our <a href="http://straphie.com">website</a>! </strong>

<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.92 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad2" id="quads-ad2" style="float:none;margin:10px 0 10px 0;text-align:center;">

</div>

<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.92 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad1" id="quads-ad1" style="float:none;margin:10px 0 10px 0;text-align:center;">

</div>

<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.92 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad2" id="quads-ad2" style="float:none;margin:10px 0 10px 0;text-align:center;">

</div>


