The first plus-sized woman to enter the top 20 of the Miss Universe pageant is increasingly breaking stereotypes, a situation that is generating many, sometimes hateful, comments.
In an interview with Fox News Miss Nepal, 22-year-old Jane Dipika Garrett said that she always dreamed of becoming a model but that she struggled with self-confidence. She said her beauty pageant experience showed her that she had overcome her eating disorder.
“I came with a humble heart… but when I won on that stage, I received the loudest applause from the entire audience. And it was so good because it was like a defining moment for me and society, that they see something different, that they see beauty in real size,” said the young woman, who did not expect such success.
However, with every success comes negative comments and Jane Dipika Garrett is no exception. The latter claimed that she had received insults regarding her body type and weight, such as “Oh, she’s a whale”, “She promotes obesity” or even “Why don’t you go to the gym?”.
However, the young woman explained that her physique is strongly influenced by a disease: polycystic ovary syndrome. This condition is often accompanied by weight gain, menstrual irregularities, acne and excessive hair growth.
“[Les gens] If people judge me based on social media alone, that’s their problem. I don’t let them get to me because I know what my goal is. I know what I want, I know what message [je veux transmettre]“, she explained to the American media.