We can’t deny that as a society, we judge beauty pageant contestants a little (actually, quite a lot). Who would actually want to parade around in a bikini in aid of being crowned Miss. UK or Miss America? Well, here at Scriptoeris we like to shake things up and with that said we present you the fiery and curvaceous Devon Mayson. Generally it’s believed that beauty pageant contestants are dim women who aspire to reach perfection. Therefore, it was undeniably refreshing to meet this diamond in the rough who through pageants is making others aware of the environment, causes to support and the effect one young individual can have on the world.
S: You only began competing earlier this year, how many have you been in so far?
D: February to be exact, I won Miss Charity and Miss Ecological. I was soon selected as a finalist for Miss Earth and the prestigious title of Miss England. Since I began I have raised £700 for Beauty with a Purpose and I’m currently fundraising for the RSPCA.
S: We love that you are so into creating awareness, what are the particular charities you support?
D: I have wanted to change the stereotype of pageant contestants. I haven’t just gained a crown here, I have been able to speak up and spread the word. The main charity I support is the British Legion. I’m their official representative for Coventry and help them by fundraising and raising the profile of their campaign, specifically, the poppy appeal (thus the nickname ‘The Poppy Queen’.) Every year I raise money for Macmillan and I also play a free gig every year as part of ‘Oxjam’; a musical fundraiser for Oxfam.
S: With all of this going on Devon, what do you do in your spare time?
D: In the very little spare time I have I write a lot of songs, it’s a really satisfying form of expression and anger management which I find much more productive than punching pillows. Jack, Rob and I have written 16 songs to date for our band, ‘Holloway Road’. We are constantly coming up with new ideas and material which we’re looking forward to releasing in the near future.
Scriptoeris notes : In fact not only does Devon study, model and compete but is a country singer and songwriter too. Holloway Road shot to the top of the Reverberation UK country chart only two weeks after their first track’See the Sun’ was released for audio preview. Wow!!
S: What are your plans for the rest of the year?
D: As a result of my successful first year in pageantry being successful I have been nominated for the title of Beauty Queen of the Year for England. I’ll be fundraising for the RSPCA as part of it, and if I win, I’ll be sent to Australia to compete in the ‘World Supermodel Pageant’ and will be the shortest contestant to date. I’m only 5’4 which may be the national average yet these girls are all 5′ 8 and above.
S: Oh my goodness, that’s quite a difference. Yet you still strive to achieve your goals- How do you feel about breaking away from the standard requirements?
D: As a model, I’m more than pleased with myself so far. In my first year of pageantry to reach the top 10 at the finals of Miss England is an incredible achievement. I was recently presented with an article arguing the lack of demand for ‘petite models’ (models under 5’5), but hopefully even a petite model being considered to represent our country in the World Supermodel Pageant should suggest otherwise.
S: Whilst doing our research and looking into the pageant sphere we discovered that over the past decade there has been a 270% increase in the number of girls hospitalised with eating disorders. What would you say to females (of any age) looking up to the contestants of beauty pageants or who have self esteem issues?
D: No matter how beautiful they are, every woman suffers with some sort of self esteem crisis at some point in their lives. Everyone wakes up some mornings wishing they could just curl back up in their duvet and go to sleep. Even the skinniest girl will have days where every item of clothing in her wardrobe makes her feel ten times the size she actually is, but it’s times like these when the most important thing to remember is that nobody is as critical of you as you are of yourself. I can safely say that when it comes to self esteem, I am my own worst enemy. Just remember, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks of you. If you can be happy, healthy and comfortable in your own skin, external opinions are irrelevant. For so many years I listened to criticisms from unimportant people who took great pleasure in making me feel insecure about my height and stopping me from going after what I really wanted. It’s important to realise that a beautiful soul makes someone beautiful not the size of jeans they can wear. I’m not particularly short in the scheme of things, and to be perfectly honest, until other people got involved it wasn’t even something I’d given much thought to. I can’t change it, so I’ve gone out and hopefully proven my point. Your own opinion of yourself is the only one that truly matters.
It is with those wise words that we concluded a wonderful afternoon with the beauty. At Scriptoeris we don’t support striving to be skinny or chasing a crown so our meet with Devon Mayson was more than inspirational. Not only is she a pageant contestant but a green goddess, charity queen and the lead singer of ‘Holloway Road’. Devon is completely turning the pageant stereotype upside down and all for great causes. This bubbly go-getter is anything but a dim woman aspiring to reach perfection; instead Devon is having an impact on the world. We wish you all the best of luck in the world Miss. Mayson. Something tells us though that there will be nothing to stop this rising star.