Runner-up for Miss South Africa 2023 and representative for this year’s Miss Universe pageant Bryoni Govender spoke about representation through her skin tone.
In an interview with The South African, the qualified lawyer shared that it was not often she would see women rich in melanin on her television screen or competing in pageants. As a young girl, she even thought she was not beautiful enough due to her richly melanated skin.
“I’ve got dark skin tone, pigmented gums, those are things I’ve never seen anywhere. We always look at Miss India and all these beautiful women and they never look like you.”
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She told the above-mentioned publication that she finally saw people who looked like her on TV when she watched the second season of Netflix’s Bridgerton. British-Indian actress Simone Ashley played the lead role in the series.
“When I watched that, I would get goosebumps. And I would say to myself, ‘Finally, there is something that is normal,'” says Bryoni.
The Miss Universe representative, who wanted to make history when she entered the pageant competition, also noted that her skin tone is her superpower while acknowledging that people of colour often experience colourism.
Says Bryoni to The South African, “This is the way I’m going to bring representation. Colourism is a real thing, not only amongst Indian people, but each and every community has something that goes on with regards to colourism and I want to break that mould.”
She added, “We are living in a society now where we need to redefine what it means to be beautiful. Becoming first runner-up, that made it for me.”
Also see: Bryoni Govender set to represent SA at the Miss Universe pageant
