Pageant QUEEN

Miss Universe has lifted its under-28 age restriction for the first time in 72 years. Its oldest Canadian entrant is just getting started

- LEANNE DELAP

Beauty pageants are at a crossroads. A series of scandals and some surprisingly modern plot twists have rocked this patchwork of sashes and stages all over the world in recent months.

Pageants were once the definition of anachronism, rating women against a unidimensional ideal of female beauty and presentation, the embodiment of the male gaze. They almost disappeared in the 1990s when TV ratings plummeted, but out of the ashes, these competitions — and there are still scores of them — have taken baby steps toward reinvention.

For one thing, the Miss Universe pageant (yes, the one co-owned by Donald J. Trump from 1996 to 2015) has dropped its age requirement for the 2024 competitions. For the first time in 72 years, entrants over the age of 28 are permitted, along with married, pregnant, lesbian and trans women.

Last week, 60-year-old lawyer Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez competed in Miss Universe Argentina to much fanfare. The reigning Miss Buenos Aires ultimately lost the competition (though she did take the lesser award of “best face”) but won international fame for the groundbreaking showing.

“As a result of what happened to me, I believe a new door has opened for many people,” she told The Associated Press.

We have a trailblazer here on the home front, too: Lorraine Peters, 58, is making history as the oldest contestant in Miss Universe Canada. Set to be held in Windsor, Ont., this July, the winner will go on to compete in the Miss Universe international pageant.

Speaking from her home in Rothesay, N.B., Peters said entering Miss Universe is about sending a message “wrapped up in the package of a nearly-60-year-old woman.” Whether she wins or not is beside the point.

Beauty pageants have often been a launch pad for modelling or acting careers. Case in point: Priyanka Chopra Jonas won the 2000 Miss World title and went on to acting stardom in both her native India and then Hollywood.