‘I do it for myself,’ says Ripon beauty queen

To some, beauty pageants are outdated concepts that demean women.

Ripon’s Victoria Hind, who was recently crowned Miss North Yorkshire Galaxy, admits the stigma almost stopped her competing.

But she says the contests have helped her, and other female competitors, grow in confidence and she finds it empowering to walk on stage.

Ms Hind had never met another pageant competitor before she competed in Galaxy pageants so she says she was aware of the common misconceptions about how they’d be. But she met women of all races, backgrounds and sizes who were simply competing for fun.

She says:

“When I got my first Harrogate title last year it took me weeks to tell anyone because of the stigma. It’s completely opposite to what people think. People think pageant girls are bitchy but I’ve not met a single nasty person.”

Supermarket worker Ms Hind initially applied to enter for Miss Galaxy UK as a dare by her friends but after watching a TikTok video by a former Miss International about the benefits of pageants she went ahead.

Victoria Hind (centre) at the final for Miss Galaxy UK in November.

She insists that “old-fashioned views” about pageant competitors all looking a certain way and spending hundreds of pounds on dresses is no longer the case:

“None of us look alike, we’re all different races and have different backgrounds. I’ve seen people win in £20 dresses!

“There’s a huge misconception about pageants but people will never properly understand them until they know someone who competes.”

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Ms Hind said some of her friends and family don’t like her taking part in pageants while others are more encouraging by telling her “you do you”.

The 23-year-old says she can understand why some people harbour negative perceptions but her experience has enabled her to grow as a person.

Photograph: Brian Hayes Photography

Pageants have boosted her confidence and encouraged her to speak out about her experiences with dyslexia. Now she wants to go into schools and talk to young students about coping with learning difficulties and uses her platform to spread the word about causes close to her heart.

She adds:

“I don’t think I’m the most beautiful girl in North Yorkshire but I have the confidence to get up and walk on a stage and just have fun. It’s empowering to be up there and I do it for myself, no one else.”