The Winner Of Miss Universe 2019 Has A Powerful Message About Women’s Place In The World

The kind of thing you have to look at twice before you believe it.

From Miss USA to Miss Universe, every year our television is graced by many beauty pageants. This year’s Miss Universe competition was held on December 8, 2019 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States and saw 3 contestants from Mexico, Puerto Rico and South Africa land in the final. After Sofía Aragón, the Mexican beauty, was announced as the 2nd Runner-Up, everyone held their breaths to hear who was the winner of this year’s Miss Universe title, Madison Anderson or Zozibini Tunzi. And behold, the host, Steve Harvey, announced (thankfully he didn’t mess up this year!) that it’s Miss South Africa who snatched the crown.

And while the crowning moment is, perhaps, most satisfying to watch, after congratulating her on the win, many people looked back and focused on what message Zozibini Tunzi channeled throughout the competition. Some, including model and businesswoman Naomi Campbell, praised Zozi for expressing her beliefs about beauty standards and how her presence and titles were changing what was once considered a norm.

Tunzi is the first black woman to be crowned Miss Universe since Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe in 2011 and the third woman from South Africa to win the title. The woman started her career in pageantry in 2017, but she had come a long way before that.

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered to be beautiful. I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.” 👸🏿 pic.twitter.com/Cqlm7YVTi1

— Naomi Campbell (@NaomiCampbell) December 9, 2019