Beauty pageants have long served as platforms that perpetuate harmful beauty standards, portraying only a narrow definition of beauty – young, slim, and fair. This limited portrayal excludes a diverse array of body types, skin tones, and ages, reinforcing the notion that only a specific set of characteristics qualify as beautiful.
However, Alejandra Rodriguez is redefining these beauty standards. She is 60 years old. She is a model. And she recently won Miss Universe Buenos Aires.
She contested with 34 others between the ages of 18 and 73 and became the first 60-year-old in beauty pageant history to win the title.
“I am thrilled to be representing this new paradigm in beauty pageants because we are inaugurating a new stage in which women are not only physical beauty but another set of values. I am the first of this generation to start with this,” Moneycontrol quoted Alejandra Rodriguez saying.
In September 2023, the Miss Universe Organisation announced that from 2024, there would no longer be age limits for pageant contestants and every woman, above the age of 18, would be eligible to participate. Hence, Rodriguez could participate.
“I think the judges saw my confidence and my passion to represent the women of my generation,” she said.
According to News18, she pursued a career in journalism after high school before changing her stream to law. She eventually served as a legal advisor for a hospital.
Her secret to looking this good at 60 – living a healthy life, eating well and having some form of physical activity.
“The basic thing is to have a healthy life, eat well, do physical activity. Normal care, nothing too extraordinary, and a little genetics. What I try to do is intermittent fasting, I think that helps a lot. Then I try to eat organic foods, a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetables, and use good creams,” she revealed.
Kudos to Alejandra Rodriguez for setting a new definition of beauty!