beauty pageant

Miss Universe Japan debuts Sailor Moon ninja transformation dress as national costume for 2018

Yuumi Kato thrills audience at pre-broadcast event by transforming from sexy ninja to magical warrior Sailor Moon in seconds.

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Japanese gravure idols and CG schoolgirls named as Miss iD semifinalists for 2018【Video】

Shrine maiden cosplayers and a lifelike doll fashion model also on the list to be crowned “New Generation Girl” of the year.

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Indo-Japanese beauty Priyanka Yoshikawa chosen as Japan’s Miss World representative

And there’s been an uproar online about her looks… her “non-Japanese” looks.

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Miss Universe contestants promote inner beauty with no-make-up selfies

Participants from the recent Miss Universe pageant tweeted photos of themselves au naturale to encourage women everywhere to love the skin they’re in.

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Miss & Mr. Aoyama Contest boasts stunning contestants, maybe the next generation of TV stars?

An MC from a Japanese variety show recently visited the prestigious Miss & Mr. Aoyama Contest and discovered some very tough competition.

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Japanese high school boys hold annual beauty pageant, look as cute as ever【Pics】

Beauty pageants for boys dressed up as girls are kind of a thing in Japan now. Whether you think they’re awesome or kind of confusing, you can’t help but admit that the entrants usually manage to pull off the cute girl look surprisingly well.

This month marks the annual Miss Komaba High School Pageant, a contest that has been going on for several years now and which invites young men to dress like their female peers . Last year’s contestants were pretty good, but can this year’s pretty boys give them a run for their money? Let’s find out!

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Thai fans approve of Miss Universe contestant’s tuk tuk-themed costume

Tuk tuks aren’t the cheapest or the safest way to get around Thailand, but as one of the more iconic local and tourist symbols of the country, they’re worth taking for a ride around town at least once.

Decked out with flashing lights and homages to the Thai flag and royal family, they’ve even recently become a fashion icon in the least likeliest of places, like the upcoming Miss Universe Pageant.

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Queens of stage and screen: Thailand’s transgender beauty pageant kicks off for 10th year

In many ways, Miss International Queen is just like any other pageant: finalists parade in evening gowns, swimsuits and national dress, and the winner will perform twelve months of promotional and charity duties. There’s one major difference, though: all the contestants are transgender women, and the top prize includes cosmetic surgery for the winner – if she wants it.

As the world’s largest transgender pageant hits the stage in Thailand (where else!) for its 10th anniversary year, we take a look at this unique contest.

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Is the Fountain of Youth in Thailand? 1965’s Miss Universe still looks pretty incredible

Perceptions of beauty pageants in modern society have definitely changed since the 1960s. While we’re sure that there are plenty of varying opinions out there regarding beauty pageants’ place in modern society, we can certainly get behind the idea that there’s more to a person than how physically attractive they are. That said, we’re sure that for winners of the pageants, like Apasra Hongsakula here, who was 18 when she won Miss Universe in 1965, the shows are source of tremendous pride and happiness.

But winning an international beauty contest isn’t the only thing that separates Apasra from the rest of us ugly shmoes–if recent photos are any indication, she’s been practically reliving her glory days for the last 47 years, since the 1965 Miss Universe still looks like Miss Universe today even at the age of 67!

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Bomb-diffusing cop is also finalist in male beauty pageant, looks gorgeous both in and out of uniform

Is this the best-looking guy in the Philippines? You might think he’s an actor from some detective drama, but he’s actually a real life cop, and now also a male beauty pageant participant. The muscular man in uniform (and often out of it) has captured hearts across the Philippines and is currently enjoying a burst of celebrity, although he swears show business isn’t for him.

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‘Miss Korea’ ladies in the 1970s looked different, beautiful long before Photoshop existed

Last April, a case of overdose on Photoshop caused a group of ‘Miss Korea’ contestants to look like cloned beauties produced by the same plastic surgeon. Though it is now clear that the ladies were not high technology clones created to take over the pageant, the incident made some of us feel that beauty pageants these days are geared towards finding a certain type of beauty standard, rather than celebrating the beauty in different women.

Is it really necessary to “enhance” the beauty of these already stunning women? Let’s take a look at the Miss Korea pageant ladies before the era of Photoshop and cosmetic surgery!

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Housewife wins pageant for “bewitching” middle-aged beauties

Usually being called a witch is an insult, but a Japanese beauty magazine reclaimed the word a few years ago and declared a new category of woman: “Beautiful Witches.” To celebrate the women over 35 that possess an almost “magical beauty untouched by age,” the fourth annual National Beautiful Witch Contest was held last week, with a 39-year-old housewife from Aichi Prefecture taking home the top prize in a Halloween-themed pageant.

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Armed Forces of Ukraine Holds Beauty Pageant for Soldiers

Ukraine is known for being home to some of the most beautiful women in the world, and also these two.

It seems the gene pool is so refined in Ukraine that even their soldiers and gorgeous, and the military must know it because every year they hold the “Miss Trooper” contest, a beauty pageant to determine the most stunning soldier female soldier in the Ukraine army.

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Japanese High School Girl Beauty Pageant Open to Online Voting, May Not Accurately Represent Japanese High Schools

The photos above are the contestants for the upcoming Kanto Miss JK Contest, a beauty pageant to be held on December 27 in Shibuya, Tokyo to decide on the cutest Japanese high school girl in Kanto, the region on the main island of Japan encompassing Tokyo and the prefectures around it.

Before we say anything too malicious, we’d like to acknowledge that perceptions of beauty—or “cuteness”, in this case—can vary greatly among different cultures. However, as many Japanese netizens have pointed out, a thick mask of makeup and hair dyed brown or blonde is hardly representative of a typical Japanese high school girl, let alone a cute one.

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Six University Cuties to Face Off at “Miss Science” Beauty Pageant in Tokyo

At Japanese universities, female science and engineering majors are definitely in the minority. Even in Tokyo, it’s not uncommon for ladies to make up less than 10% of enrollment for science departments. But the elusive rikei joshi, or “science girl,” does exist and Japanese student organization CURIE is holding a pageant called “Miss Rekei Contest” to give them a chance to prove they’ve got beauty as well as brains.

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Controversial Results of Beauty Pageant Lead to Do-Over, Previous Winners Deemed “Way Too Ugly” by Public

On June 30 the Miss International Regional Qualifying Pageant was held in Chongqing, China.  However, as the winners (pictured above) were announced, backlash from scores of confused spectators and an allegation that the contest was fixed has prompted organizers to hold a second pageant.

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