Magnolia Maymuru poses during the Miss World Australia 2016 National Final.
Magnolia Maymuru poses during the Miss World Australia 2016 National Final. Photo: Sam Tabone/WireImage
When it was announced that Yolngu woman Magnolia Maymuru had become the first Northern Territory woman to make the finals of the Miss World Australia pageant, I admit to not paying a great deal of attention. While completely supporting an Aboriginal sister achieving her dreams, I still believe the abolition of beauty pageants to be long overdue and I definitely do not see them as a method of empowerment for Aboriginal women.
Despite my not being engaged though, I couldn't miss the coverage. Ms Maymuru generated a lot of interest and rightly so. She captured the attention of international scouts and was successful in becoming the face of an advertising campaign for Chadstone Shopping Centre.
The coverage I did read on Ms Maymuru did nothing to change my opinion that beauty pageants will never be a site of empowerment for Aboriginal women as a whole. It was one thing to read coverage of her discovery by a model agent as she withdrew cash from an ATM in Darwin, it was quite another to see the average layperson weigh in to criticise her makeup, labelling her a "natural beauty" (because Aboriginal women have historically been relegated to nature) and refer to her looks as "exotic" (a woman who can trace her history back 60,000 years in this land is not exotic).
Reading this type of commentary as an Aboriginal feminist reminded me of how far we have to go before any notion of gender and racial equality is achieved in this country.
Until yesterday though, I thought the reason I was seeing media interest in Magnolia's journey was because she was the first Indigenous woman to make the national finals of the Miss World Australia pageant. This was theimpression given by numerous newsoutlets in this country. It was not until I witnessed a Facebook conversation asking whether the other Aboriginal finalists would be featured in an upcoming story that I learnt otherwise. At least three Aboriginal women made the pageant finals this year yet the media had mainly ignored two of them.
Both of the other women had been open about their heritage too. Queensland finalist Elyse Miller is represented by Indigenous modelling agency Blak Model Management who celebrated her participation in the Melbourne finals on their Facebook page. 
Meanwhile in local news coverage, Western Australian finalist Tegan Hayden highlighted her large Aboriginal family while talking about her wish to become the first Aboriginal model for Victoria's Secret. 
What's more, it turns out that three Aboriginal women made the finals last year as well.
Did reporters see "first Indigenous finalist from the Northern Territory" and get their wires crossed, or was something else at play? Three Aboriginal finalists could have potentially been something for the media to celebrate, but they never did. Unfortunately, I feel this is due to them only deeming some Aboriginal women fit to recognise.
Much was made, for example, of Magnolia being a "traditional" Aboriginal woman. It was reported in a number of sources that she would not wear bikinis nor did she undertake jobs which required her legs be shown due to cultural reasons. It is undeniable that Magnolia's link to her culture is incredibly strong. Drawing on her stipulations regarding her legs is curious proof considering this is a cultural adaption of old tradition made following colonisation and the forced introduction of Christianity into Aboriginal lands. Modesty existed in forms which did not include long skirts prior to this point.
As to Tegan's and Elyse's contacts with their traditional cultures, no such information was given. I can only conclude that this was not of interest to the media due to their comparatively fair skin and urban backgrounds.
For an Aboriginal woman to be recognised and accepted as such to the mainstream, it's preferred she not show the impacts of colonisation. If she can be framed as an "authentic", she can be celebrated.
In doing so, the white media can continue to pretend that forced assimilation programs in this country have not been to Aboriginal detriment. They also can ignore how hard theYolngu have fought to maintain culture; even petitioning the government to recognise their sovereign rights; by highlighting traditional appearance and culture. This is about mainstream Australia alleviating its own guilt rather than celebrating Aboriginal women and their struggles in any real way.
I will never support beauty pageants. No matter how much pageants sell themselves as celebrating intelligence and empowerment, they remain a vehicle to reinforce the idea that a woman's real value lies in her ability to be aesthetically pleasing to men.
While I celebrate all Aboriginal women who achieve in a society that remains racist and sexist, I do this due to the battle we face in gaining recognition in the first place. We're are always seen as being either not woman enough, or not black enough.
I wish all of these women well, and look forward to tracking what appears to be an exciting career ahead for Magnolia as she takes on the world. I also marvel at how Australia manages to paint itself as evolved and inclusive while continuously proving otherwise. Finally, I look forward to eventually becoming a society where Aboriginal women's looks are no longer subjected to the validation of anyone but ourselves. There will never be any real notion of empowerment otherwise.  

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/magnolia-maymuru-wasnt-the-only-aboriginal-finalist-of-miss-world-australia-why-werent-the-others-recognised-20160724-gqcs8z.html