Eve Gillies, with short hair, won the French beauty pageant “Miss France 2024.” However, as the competition ended, controversy arose with claims that it ignored traditional standards of feminine beauty.

Real Research, an online survey app, revealed that 89% of respondents (completely aware: 46.92 + vaguely aware: 41.88%) were aware of the Miss France beauty pageant controversy, while 11% were unaware.

Highlights:

  • 89% of respondents believe the Miss France 2024 competition was unfair.
  • 7 out of 10  found it likely that Eve Gillie’s victory would be an exemplary case for future beauty pageants.
  • More than half of the respondents think this win has the potential to change the beauty standards required for future beauty pageants.

Miss France Beauty Pageant

Some ‘traditionalists’ claimed that Eve Gillie’s victory overlooked the beauty standards required by the pageant.  39% of respondents believe her victory did not overlook the beauty standard required by the pageant, 35% were certain it did, and 26% were not sure.

Criticism of Eve Gillies

The traditionalists further criticized Eve Gillies’ Miss France Beauty Pageant victory as unfair because the judging panel was selected with “wokeness/consciousness” in mind. 89% of respondents (completely agree: 66.98% + somewhat agree: 22.12%) agreed that the competition was unfair, 7% somewhat disagreed, and 4% completely disagreed.

Miss-France-beauty-pageant
Figure 1: Was Eve Gillie’s Miss France beauty pageant victory unfair?

History of the Miss France Beauty Pageant

Past winners had long-flowing hair, voluptuous bodies, and tall structures. However, since the mid-1970s, beauty pageants have faced criticism for imposing beauty standards. Respondents were asked if they think beauty standards include long hair, a curvy body, and height.

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They responded, “Yes, to a limited extent” (37%), “No, not particularly” (28%), “Yes, absolutely” (26%), and “No, absolutely not” (8%), respectively.

Eve Gillie vs. The Critics

Eve Gillies aimed to set an example after facing criticism about her appearance. The pageant organizers praised her victory, highlighting it as a win for diversity. 78% of respondents (somewhat likely: 45.98% + very likely: 32.46%) found it likely that her victory would be an exemplary case for beauty pageants. 18.3% were neutral, while 3% found it unlikely.

The likelihood of Gillie’s victory being exemplary
Figure 2: The likelihood of Gillie’s victory being exemplary

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Beauty Standards

A survey on the victory of short-haired Miss France revealed that 53% of respondents (somewhat impossible: 36.72% + possible: 16.74%) do not think Eve Gillie’s win has the potential to change the beauty standards required for future beauty pageants. 26% think it is somewhat possible, and 21% believe it is very possible.

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Figure 3: The possibility of this win changing future beauty pageants requirements

Methodology

Survey TitleSurvey on the Victory of Short-Haired “Miss France”
DurationDecember 22 – December 29, 2023
Number of Participants10,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia,… Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.