Queen Saturday- Miss Voluptuous Queens

Queen Saturday is here and this week brings some curvy queens who recently walked away with their crowns from the Miss Voluptuous pageant! 

The pageant, ran by fellow pageant girl and founder of the Q4 movement Natalie, held its third annual finals, with 5 new queens being crowned! Miss Voluptuous is a plus size pageant for women size 14 plus, where they focus more on their platforms and developing what they see to be a pageant queen, not what society tells them they should be! 

We talked to all five winners about their Miss V journey!

Lauren- Lifetime Queen

Welcome again Lauren! Last time we talked to you, it was before your handover but it seems like you gained another crown! Can you tell us what you did with your ambassador title?

In the lead up to 2019/20 finals, I continued to promoted my systemhood as well as my platform plastic awareness and effects on the environment. In my local environment  I have collected over 500 bags since I was crowned MV Ambassador 2018/19 last year! 

How did it feel to do your final walk, only to be crowned again!

When I was called up last weekend to take my final walk as a queen, I was deeply saddened as I have been part of the pageant community for ten years. I had planned to be taking time out from the competing side for a while to focus on family life and my degree. My recorded speech was planned to be short and sweet but being on stage for the last time whilst trying my hardest not to be emotional was so hard. I have so much to give the pageant community as I have not only became a national title holder but the self discovery I have been on has helped me develop as an individual.

Do pageant girls ever retire?! What do you have planned now with your lifetime crown?

For now, I still plan to promote my platform as well as the miss voluptuous pageant system for the sisterhood it stands for. I may have hug up my shoes but I shall always support the future classes and the newly crowned queens. 

Speaking about your platform, can you tell us a bit more about it?

My Platform is: War on Plastic and Effects on the local environment. As I am an islander this issues affect not only myself but the whole community. I have become known locally as a ‘Eco Warrior’, taking a hands on approach to making a difference.

 From Beach Cleans, school and community cleans, and helping run something called ‘Isle of Wight Day’ which I am in charge of running and monitoring the Medial River way coastal walk way from rubbish. 

This is a huge communal area which always has a large litter problem, due to it being on a school run, football course, community field and coastal path. 

Finally, can you give any curve girls any advice for entering pageants as you’ve competed for a long time!

My advice, for not only curve ladies,but anyone looking to join the ever growing pageant community is to check out what the system is, attend them as a guest first and get a feel for which system best suits you, your values and platform. Miss Voluptuous pageants is my systems as I have been able to champion my own platform and charity but have the opportunity to learn the other contestant as well. 

Aisha- Wales 

Hello Aisha, can you tell us the journey to the crown?

I joined the finalists group quite late in the year, July to be precise! So I didn’t have a lot of time to make my mark!! I did the best I could do, attending as many events as I could in connection to my platform including two Prides, one of which I invited fellow finalists too as well, a posh gala dinner, a radio interview, so many events to cram in before the finals!

Now you have made history as the very first Miss Voluptuous Wales, how did that moment feel?

In all honesty I was not expecting to win, not even slightly, I had already won Miss Empowerment and Best in Interview so for me I was already extremely happy! Then I heard my name again and I was super shocked! That’s when the ugly cries began! I didn’t just shed a tear I cried a river, a raging ugly river of glitter and mascara! It was hysterical!!! 

I mean I was in those interviews so I’m not surprised about best in interview! Now you have that long awaited crown, what do you plan to do with it!

I intend to spend the year doing as much as I can with this reign,  I would like to get involved in as many charity events as possible and to help inspire other women into body positivity and perhaps even pageantry! Get this crown out as much as I can. One thing I will be promoting the most is my platform, which is HIV and sexual health awareness.  I really want to further the reach and core messaging of my platform that being that people on effective HIV treatment CANT PASS IT ON and that regular Sexual Health testing and condom use are vital tools in the management of rising STI’s.

Speaking of your platform, and one I find really interesting because it is not talked about enough, could you tell us a bit more about it?

My platform has always been the same since I started in pageantry, and this year I was lucky enough to get my dream job working for the UKs leading HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, who have also always been my chosen charity and will be the charity I support personally throughout my reign. I would say that my platform is also my passion, sexual health is something that is still a taboo subject in the UK and it shouldn’t be. 

The only way to eradicate the stigma around sexual health and specifically HIV is to educate people on it, to talk about it and to make it become a natural part of our lives to be regularly tested if were sexually active.

Finally, what advice could you give to females following in your footsteps?

My advice for any curvy girls thinking about entering pageantry is DO IT! I will say that one of my favourite quotes of all time has the phrase “it is our light not our darkness that frightens is most” and you have a light in you that you may never have seen before so go for it!!! Also I have met some of the greatest women in my life through pageantry and had experiences that I can’t explain. Genuinely the sisterhood is something else. 

Rhian- Ireland

Welcome Rhian! So you are no stranger to pageant world, but tell us about this journey in your first curve pageant?

I was quite late in the game in the lead up to Miss Voluptuous and won my place only 2 months before. During those two months I spent time getting the word of this amazing pageant out around Ireland! I was interviewed discussing the pageant and body positivity on two different stations, as well as spreading the news in countdowns, lives and pictures on my social media. I partook in different charity events where I wore my sash with pride and can't wait to continue spreading the word and being a good queen showing what Miss Voluptuous is all about - inclusion, body positivity and passion for our platforms. 

Amazing! So you could of either won Ireland or Wales because you are a Welsh queen living in Ireland and married to an Irish man, so how did it feel to win the very first Irish title!

When my name was called out I was in shock, I genuinely did not expect to win as all of the girls are just amazing and beautiful women, on the inside as well as outside. I was just watching the video of my crowning and the first minute I look so confused after they called me, as it was such a surprise and honour. 

What do you have planned for the rest of your year in Ireland as a Irish Queen?

During the next year of my reign, I hope to prove that I take this role seriously. I want to inspire others and carry on promoting body positivity. If I can do it, anyone can. The only limitations we have most of the time are those we put on ourselves. I want to continue to raise money for both my platforms of mental health and cancer awareness. 

Could you tell us a little bit more about the work you do with your platform?

I volunteer weekly for an amazing charity in Northern Ireland called Me 4 Mental. Their offices are mainly based around there but anyone can access the social media, which is what I do as I am the support advisor on the weekends. Mental illness still has a stigma attached to it which I find alarming. The brain is just another part of the body that can malfunction. I also raise money for cancer as too many people in my family and friends have been affected by this. Both mental illness and cancer stats are rising and I do not know anyone who has been affected directly or indirectly by one or both. That is the reason I choose them as my platform. 

Two amazing platforms and you are very right with one in three people getting cancer, and one in four suffering from mental health. What would you say to someone looking to compete, from your experiences?

I work as a special education teacher now but I have worked in mainstream and in hospitals and I have seen too many beautiful men and women affected by body dysmorphia. That is why pageants like Miss Voluptuous are so important to show that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Someone once said to me (we were a similar size) that she wished she was as body confident as me. But I am not body confident, I am body acceptance. I know my flaws but I would never let them stop me doing anything. So I will always encourage girls who maybe curvy but feel they can't do what I do, to get out there and do it. It is amazing for your confidence and the friends you make will be friends for life! It is not like those horror stories you see on tv and films, pageantry is fierce women who form to become an amazing sisterhood supporting each other through the adventure of pageantry. 

Kelly- Scotland 

Welcome to Sparkles and Rhinestones Kelly! So this was your second year competing, how was the preparation this time around?

On the lead up to finals I ensured that everything was complete and correct, my appearance folder up to date and look queen like, checked  and triple checked my outfits and broke in my new nude shoes as well as arranging my jewellery. My sash was out and about, as well as raising funds for Refuge charity.

Second time around, and the crown was yours! How did it feel in that moment?

Hearing my name being called out as queen at finals was so surreal and full of emotion - I just burst into tears of joy that all my hard work had paid off and I made it to queen - it was a dream come true .

Now the crown is used to being on your head, can you tell us your plans for the reign of Scotland?

So the day after finals I had an email inviting me to judge in a pageant next year, then we have the curve festival combined with a photo shoot.  This year I will be working closely for Dress for Success and I’m in the process of arranging this years catwalk ( for the 3rd year running) and showing all the lovely designs by Mark Heys of GMTV. I will continue to support as many events as I can this year and will support fellow sisters online campaigns and of course we still need to decide on Miss V’s charity of the year.

You’ve talked about working closely with Dress for Success, can you tell us a bit more about this charity as your platform?

This year my platform was refuge and I raised a lot of items and funds, however I wanted to work closely with a charity that I have supported before,and the crown has allowed me to. It’s still along the same lines as Refuge as they help victims of domestic violence, as well as people with low incomes and poverty. Dress for Success is an international charity that help people in need with work clothes, also handbags and even jewellery. For people on very low incomes, this helps them to be able to succeed in their working lives, as well as helping victims of domestic violence rebuild. I’m so exciting to be helping such an amazing charity.

Finally, what advice could you give to a curvy girl looking to start pageants?

Please do your research before deciding to apply, you want to make sure the pageant you enter is the right one for you, try and speak to that pageants director and get a feel for them and their system so that you can go where your heart leads you. 

It really doesn’t matter on your shape, size, race, religion, sexuality, age etc you will find the right one for you and just get out and go for it - but please don’t enter just for a crown, it is hard work and takes commitment too!

Sharron- England 

Welcome Sharron! Like Kelly, you returned for the second year in a row, can you tell us what you did in the lead up to the finals?

I was shocked and overjoyed to be placed 4th runner up in 2018. To be in the top 5 for what was my first pageant was fantastic and I immediately decided I wanted to do better. I chose Macmillan Cancer support as my 2019 platform and am now a Macmillan Volunteer and have participated in many events including collecting money at a Joe Lycett gig and walking the London Pride parade. They even kindly provided me with old t shirts for my ECO outfit which resulted in my scoring top in ECO round. I even gave up drinking anything but water for a month for  Wateraid! 

Over the year I did research, I found out what a 'good' fun fashion outfit looked like because it was the one round that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't translate into a 'real life' set of clothes.  I looked at example interview outfits and after buying 4 different dresses I  found the one I felt was most appropriate.  I even practiced interview answers on my drives to and from work! Then there was my gown!I researched colours that would suit me by draping chiffon off cuts around my neck and taking pictures against neutral backgrounds (thank you to the 50 odd people who voted, all but one chose my final colour) and I ordered a dress that made my heart sing when I saw it.

Lots of research!! And it paid off as you walked away with the crown! How did it feel being called the England winner?

I entered the weekend with only one wish, to do better than last year.  I was overjoyed when my name was called in the top 3 and as I stood there waiting for the winner to be announced, all that was going through my head was 'fantastic,  I've done better than last year,  I can't wait for the feedback so I can see what tweaks I can make to maybe win next year'. I was not expecting my name to be called as winner. When it happened I froze. Then the tears started,  I felt overwhelmed,  amazingly happy and a little worried about how I could do my best for the crown over the coming year. I suspect that all my crowning pictures will show me doing goldfish impressions as I was trying so hard not to ugly cry!

Now that crown is yours forever! What do you plan to do with your title now?

As Queen, I will focus on being the best I can for Miss Voluptuous.  I will support my sister Queens, our Director and our sponsors, I plan to work to raise the systems reputation  and encourage a eaft of enthusiastic,  platform proud finalists. I will have a lot of fun doing it! I have already donated a bootful of toiletries on behalf of Miss V and the Q4 collective to my local refuge,  collected at my work and have attended my first pageant as a reigning queen. 

You’ve talked about platforms, could you tell us a bit more about yours?

My platform changed this year, last year it was MIND, which I felt represented my past and because of that I didnt feel the energy or passion I should have had for my platform so I changed to Macmillan Cancer Support and will be continue to support. They have an aging Volunteer force and I am going to focus on encouraging younger Volunteers by leading by example and by showing what fun it is to do.

And ending the interview with one last question, what advice could you give for people reading who want to enter for next year?

If you are thinking about doing a curve pageant,  I would say 'go for it'. Be prepared to commit time and energy to your platform and choose one you feel passionate about because your passion will show. You will meet the most amazing and supportive people, you get to have fun and you get to show the world that diversity is something to be embraced. I have no regrets about doing this and it must look like fun because my 9 year old daughter has asked to do her first pageant too!

(All photos by Ant from Style and Story Photography)