\n<\/p>\n
In Singapore, pageant contestants are not revered or respected in the same way, echoed Ms Tanisha Tan.<\/span><\/p>\n The 26-year-old social media agency founder has competed in three pageants and was crowned Miss Singapore International 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n The lack of recognition, she added, can also translate into financial strain, especially for contestants in smaller or lesser-known pageants.<\/span><\/p>\n Many, including herself, end up paying out of pocket for extra preparation \u2013 photoshoots, runway lessons, makeup tutorials \u2013 just to put their best foot forward, even if they know it may not always pay off.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr Navera suggested that Singapore\u2019s \u201clukewarm treatment\u201d of pageantry may partly stem from a deep-seated national pragmatism and greater emphasis on values like discipline, diligence, hard work and meritocracy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Beauty, by contrast, is seen as an unearned advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor women in other countries, though, pageants are a pathway to success,\u201d noted Dr Navera, who has written a book on the Filipino fascination with beauty queens. He described pageants as a “cultural ritual” in the Philippines.<\/span><\/p>\n Compared with their regional counterparts, women in Singapore have “more options for career and personal growth\u201d, the academic added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy would a woman who has the resources to study in top universities here and abroad, and opportunities for career advancement through traditional routes, still consider joining pageants?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The answer, for many contestants CNA spoke to, is simple enough.<\/span><\/p>\n Pageantry lets them push their limits in various areas \u2013 be it confronting biases or being comfortable in their skin.<\/span><\/p>\n Not unlike Ms Hoong, Ms Lee once thought women in pageantry were \u201cbimbos\u201d and \u201cattractive but unintelligent\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n But when she started her PhD in artificial intelligence on a full scholarship with the Singapore University of Technology and Design earlier this year, she wanted to simultaneously challenge herself to do something that was the \u201ctotal opposite\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nA PERSONAL CHALLENGE<\/span><\/h2>\n