Part 2 of Plus Size Steals’ exclusive guest blog with beauty queen/actress Chassie Virginia Deitz-Selouane. Chassie was recently on one of the hottest shows on tv- Glee. Very cool! Learn about this amazing woman, here’s part 2 of with Chassie-
The current demographics in our country are amazing.
Two thirds of the American female population are women that wear a size 14 or larger. This has been quoted by the New York Times and USA Today. We are no longer the minority of women; we ARE the majority of women. I want everyone to think for just a moment, how many women in your own family and circle of friends, are women of size? All of us have someone that we know and love, our Grandmothers, aunts, Mom’s, sisters, cousins, dear friends. We all know someone that packs a little extra weight, and so what!
Do we love them less because they do not fit in with what the media perceives as a standard of beauty? They are still beautiful, wonderful, women of the world. The media has been partly responsible in brainwashing our youth and society for far too long. Their “ideal woman”, isn’t a REAL woman at all. In this country we have approximately 70 million plus size women that do not meet the standards of beauty, which the mass media has set for us.
I believe another form of brainwashing starts when we receive our first Barbie Doll. Think about it! What does Barbie represent? Barbie became an icon for our youth in America, in 1959. The creator of Barbie was Ruth Handler. One day she saw her young daughter, Barbara, and her girlfriends playing with adult female dolls. She noticed that they liked playing with the adult dolls more than their baby dolls. Handler sensed that it was just as important for girls to imagine what they themselves might grow up to become, instead of focusing on what caring for children might be like. The idea was originally a good one. However, Barbie started to become our major role model in life. This was the image that we were supposed to aim for as we grew up. Barbie was a small scale, anatomically improbable molded plastic figure of a human being. This became America’s pop culture and major icon for the female in the United States. Barbie and Miss America have been a part of the ‘standards’ of American Beauty, but those ‘standards’ are changing.
My personal experience with pageants has been very positive. In the pageant world we have opened the doors to embrace women from all walks of life. We are no longer focused on the “Barbie doll image”. We have seen women of all sizes, ages, ethnicity and marital status participate in pageants. By participating in pageants we help minimize the negative impact that the media has stowed upon us for years. Entering pageants teaches us about the importance of friendship, sportsmanship, competition, public speaking, charity work and learning to be the best that we can be. Winning the title and crown has opened a new doorway in my life. Hopefully the work that I do will help other women of size understand and appreciate who they are as well.
There are so many successful women in the United States that have been former Pageant Contestants. Women such as Diane Sawyer, Vanessa Williams, Halle Berry, and Delta Burke just to name a few.
I walk with pride as a plus size woman in society. I wear my crown and I carry it well. I am a Big Beautiful Woman for the entire world to see. I represent myself and the Majority………of women.
Chassie is the current reigning National Today’s American Woman Pageant Mrs. Plus Ambassador. Today’s National Woman Pageant is a pageant whose national Platform is Volunteerism with a Passion, which allows each queen to serve the platform of her heart and life’s experience! Visit Chassie’s Blog for more information on how to become a contestant in the pageant: http://mrs2dayamericanwomanplus.blogspot.com/
If you missed part 1 of Chassie’s guest blog, its here. Thanks!
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