![]() Feel comfortable with who you are and how you look, and that’s going to take you further than comparing yourself to others.ĪM: I was a dreamer. Now that I’m here, I want to let girls know that they shouldn’t listen to outside comments, and they shouldn’t pay attention to how other girls look on social media. At the beginning, I was comparing myself to everyone. It’s very sad to live life feeling that you are not enough. No matter what I did, it was never enough. Ladies sash that says miss universe for sale tv#I wanted to have hair just like the people on TV or in magazines. But at the same time, when I started this, I had a lot of trouble accepting myself just the way I was. When I was younger, I would look at these top models, and obviously, I admired them and all the former Miss Universe winners. They are telling society and little girls that they have to be a certain way to be beautiful or to be worthy. VN: Why do you believe it’s important for society to move away from rigid beauty standards?ĪM: Because they’re harmful. But I remind myself that I’m doing the right thing and that I can at least change one mind in the room. There are always people that are going to be against you, people that are not going to like you. The world is not going to be on your side all the time. “Feel comfortable with who you are and how you look, and that’s going to take you further than comparing yourself to others.”ĪM: Sometimes it’s hard. And not only in Mexico, but all around the world. She said, “This culture that we’re living in, just because it’s our normal doesn’t mean that it’s right.” Around five years ago, I was already into pageants, and I thought, there are people listening to me, and I can use this platform to talk about important topics-issues that are happening here in my country. My sister became a feminist before I did, and she motivated me. I grew up with a fear of going outside by myself. I grew up knowing that women were disappearing. I’m from the state of Chihuahua-and, sadly, it’s known for the violence that women suffer. VN: Why is fighting gender-based violence important to you?ĪM: I come from a country that has been violent toward women, especially within my state. I hope that with this platform, I can make a change. VN: How do you plan on using your platform to spread the word about veganism?ĪM: Something that I’ve been saying as Miss Universe is, “I want to make people uncomfortable.” If it’s talking about what’s happening to animals or if it’s talking about women in power, as long as I’m making people uncomfortable, I’m going to keep on doing it. So I was vegetarian for about two months, and then after watching the documentary The Game Changers and reading a little bit about veganism, I was like, “Okay, I’m ready to make the change.” I was preparing chicken, and I couldn’t eat it anymore. I feel like when you’re not ready to make the change in your life, you just refuse to accept the reality. I didn’t know anything about veganism, but one of my closest friends is vegan, so I was learning a little bit from her. VEGNEWS: When did your vegan journey begin?Īndrea Meza: Two years ago, my life brought me to a point where I couldn’t stand eating animals anymore. VegNews’ Jasmin Singer caught up with Miss Universe to discuss tacos, criticism, and self-love. And as long as she’s making her millions of onlookers, as she says, “uncomfortable” (a task she does not take lightly), she knows she’s winning-and it is that success that reaps rewards far greater than any sash can provide. From animal rights to gender equity and women empowerment, the issues Meza has devoted her life to are both noble and necessary. If that doesn’t challenge any previously held beliefs about what a pageant winner looks like, try this on for size: Meza thinks mainstream beauty standards are downright ridiculous, pointing to the fact that it’s how we show up for ourselves and our shared planet, not how we appear physically, that defines true, lasting beauty. It wasn’t until her early 20s that Meza recognized the immense power she’d have to speak out for what matters if she were given access to one of the biggest platforms in the world-the universe, really-from which to advocate for radical social change. In 2020, the activist and singer didn’t just become the third Mexican woman to win the coveted Miss Universe title, but this knock-out rabble-rouser has made history as the first-ever vegan to snag the crown.īut for Meza-whose feminist seeds were planted when she was a justice-seeking child growing up in Chihuahua, Mexico-being a beauty queen was never the dream she had her heart set on being a doctor or an engineer. Andrea Meza is the definition of a multi-hyphenate. ![]()
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