Beauty queen defies pageant, quits over 'body shaming'
Iceland鈥檚 representative in a Las Vegas-based beauty contest called the Miss Grand International beauty contest announced her decision to quit the contest after a contest affiliate told her to lose weight if she wanted to win.
Miss Iceland 2015 Arna 脻r J贸nsd贸ttir says that she was angry to receive a message from the contest owner, advising her to lose weight if she wanted to win. Now, Ms. J贸nsd贸ttir is being praised as a hero by opponents of body shaming.
鈥淚f the owner of the contest really wants me to lose weight and doesn鈥檛 like me the way I am, then ,鈥� Miss J贸nsd贸ttir told the Iceland Monitor. 鈥淵es, my shoulders are a bit broader than the other girls, but that is because I was a member of the Icelandic national athletics team and I am proud of that.鈥� She added,
鈥淥f course, I don鈥檛 take these comments to heart, but to do my best then hear this.... Personally, I think I鈥檓 fine as I am.鈥�
J贸nsd贸ttir is an athlete on the Icelandic national athletics team and a , a position of which she says she is proud. Her athletic pursuits make her muscular, and her broad shoulders, in turn, aid her athletic pursuits, she says. Yet these are some of the attributes she was told could hold her back in competition.
鈥淪top eating breakfast, eat just salad for lunch and drink water every evening until the contest,鈥� said a message J贸nsd贸ttir received during the beauty contest. 鈥淸The owner] is telling you this because he likes you and wants you to do well in this contest.鈥�
J贸nsd贸ttir鈥檚 spirited rebuke of the contest owner and others who criticized her body type has won her dozens of fans, who say that she is the role model young women need.
The Icelandic athlete鈥檚 decision to quit the Miss Grand International beauty contest comes after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came under fire for his criticism of the first Miss Universe pageant winner, Alicia Machado,聽after he bought the franchise.
Mr. Trump has since repeatedly attacked Miss Machado, both for her weight and other reasons. Critics of Trump鈥檚 behavior toward Machado say that her treatment is emblematic of society鈥檚 attitudes towards women and body image.
Body positivity advocates say that J贸nsd贸ttir is an excellent advocate for young women.
"I truly hope that the organisation opens their eyes because the year is 2016 and if you are gonna , you have to see the international beauty,鈥� says J贸nsd贸ttir.
"In my country, my body shape is perfect. And that's what I'm gonna remember. No one will ever tell me anything else."
