Miss France 2024 Pageant Winner Faces Public Backlash Over Her Short Hair

In a year marked by groundbreaking achievements at Miss Universe, Eve Gilles made history by becoming the first woman sporting a pixie haircut to win Miss France in its 103-year history. However, not everyone was happy with this decision.

Twenty-year-old Eve Gilles, an undergraduate student majoring in mathematics, won the yearly pageant, earning her title after the judging panel’s decision during the final, which drew in an audience of 7.5 million television viewers.

Regrettably, the panel’s choice faced significant backlash, with Gilles subjected to harsh criticism regarding her “absence of shape, her thinness and her short hair”.

However, as Gilles confidently expressed on stage, “beauty is not limited to a haircut or shapes that we have... or not.”

At the age of 20, Gilles didn’t anticipate making history when she decided to cut her long hair several years ago.

The aspiring pageant winner first addressed her hair transformation while participating in the Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais competition, which she won before advancing to compete at Miss France. “It brought something out of me, it changed me and makes me appear more like a strong woman,” Gilles expressed during the competition. “This is what I want to show.”

Gilles also discussed her choice to cut her hair in an interview after her Miss France triumph, “I cut my hair first for myself. I see myself as a strong, determined woman, regardless of the length of my hair.”

Miss France’s overall score was divided equally, with 50% based on public votes and the remaining 50% determined by a panel of seven women judges, resulting in her securing only third place in the public vote.

Following her victory, criticism flooded social media, with many denouncing the judging panel as “woke.” One user expressed, “Making people believe that the most beautiful woman in France looks like a man is woke.” Another commented, “Miss France is no longer a beauty contest but a woke contest which is based on inclusiveness.”

However, numerous individuals swiftly defended her, labelling the accusations of being “woke” as “ridiculous.”

Standards for beauty pageants are indeed changing now, but it’s for good since all women can express themselves regardless of their age, haircut or look and still feel beautiful. Recently, another woman in London won the contest completely makeup-free, wearing nothing but a smile.