Who knew that in 2023, wearing your hair short as a woman could offend so many people? That’s what Miss France winner Eve Gilles recently found out when she competed in the pageant with a short brown bob and a sweeping fringe.
The online reaction was swift. Some users on X (formerly Twitter) called the 94-year old competition of going “woke” for crowning a woman who didn’t have the conventionally feminine hairstyle of long, luscious locks.
Perhaps the term ‘woke’ is being thrown around a bit too carelessly (and irresponsibly) these days?
After Gilles’ win last weekend, the 20-year old said “We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses (sic) with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair.”
“[Every] woman is different, we’re all unique. No one should dictate who you are.”
During the contest, which took place in the eastern city of Dijon on Saturday, Gilles said she wanted to “show that the competition is evolving and society too, that the representation of women is diverse, in my opinion beauty is not limited to a haircut or shapes that we have… or not”.
It goes without saying that her comments are contained within an industry where nobody is larger than size 6, or over the age of 30— so her definition of ‘diverse’ doesn’t actually reflect the true representation of women’s bodies across society.
Nevertheless, her comments and her short hair are starting conversations around the world. Why? Well, because of the backlash of course.
Backlash
First reported by UK’s Telegraph, several users on X expressed their anger and distain for Gilles and her win.
“Miss France is no longer a beauty contest but a woke contest which is based on inclusiveness,” one user complained. Another said that crowning a short haired woman indicated the competition was “instilling wokist (sic) values into society.”
Another wrote, “The androgynous body is clearly to serve woke propaganda.”
Nevermind the fact that Gilles meets every single measure of beauty the patriarchy has imposed upon us about the repressive idea of feminine beauty — she has a sculpted, symmetrical face, slim tall figure, appears to not have any excess fat on her body, and basically looks similar to every other winner who was ever been crowned in beauty pageant history.
Nevermind that conventionally attractive women who have had short hair (Linda Evangelista, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Portman, Edie Sedgwick) have still been accepted as undeniably beautiful.
It seems that when it comes to the world of beauty pageants, some fans believe beauty has only one hairstyle.
Admirers
Where there’s hate, there is always love. Several users expressed their joy at seeing a short-haired woman being crowned the winner. One described Gilles as “sublime”, while another pondered aloud: “Aren’t women allowed short hair anymore – I must have missed the memo.”
French ecofeminist and Greens MP, Sandrine Rousseau said, “So, in France, in 2023, we measure the progress of respect for women by the length of their hair?”
On X, the 51-year old wrote, “I’m shocked by the comments on #MissFrance2024 I didn’t imagine we were there. Our hair, and what we do with it, how we style it, is none of men’s business. Point.”
Other female politicians weighed in on the win, including fellow Greens MP Karima Delli who wrote, “Big support for Eve Gilles in the face of hateful tweets on social networks of incredible violence!” on her socials.
“Swallow your venom, she is not only superb, Miss Nord pas de Calais is intelligent in embracing her diversity!”
Giles was crowned Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais (the northern region of France) in October this year.