When she was younger Kat Henry loved watching Miss Universe and Miss World and wished she had the opportunity to take part in pageants.
But as a plus-size woman of colour, Kat felt like it was unattainable to her and she didn’t see anyone like her represented.
But in 2014, in her 30s, Kat decided to just go for it and entered her first pageant.
She entered Ms British Beauty Curve, a competition for women over a size 14 – and went on to win.
Six years on and many titles later, Kat, now 36, from Surrey, is one of 25 women competing in Ms Great Britain, the category for anyone over 27, with no upper age limit, at the 75th anniversary of the Miss Great Britan pageant – one of the biggest in the country.
With the Ms winner announced tomorrow alongside Miss Great Britain 2020, Kat is preparing for the big day.
She tells Metro.co.uk: ‘The typical Miss Great Britain contestant is tall, leggy, slim and fair or olive-skinned.
‘You rarely see women of colour or plus-size women being crowned at these big pageants.
‘I want to be a role model and break those stereotypes. I think that every single body requires representation within the media within the world. We all deserve love and respect.’
Kat came from a musical theatre background and after years of admiring pageants from afar, she decided to enter her first content on a whim.
Although her first pageant was aimed at plus-size women, she then went on to enter the United Kingdom Galaxy competition, a contest for people of any size.
She says: ‘It was quite unheard of for somebody of my size and my colour to be up on stage kind of in a bikini doing my own thing.
‘I actually made the top 10 which was a big achievement for me again.’
Since then, Kat has gone on to win multiple titles including Ms International Curve in 2018.
Being a plus-size woman competing alongside women who are smaller than her, Kat says she has faced some negative comments.
She says: ‘There’s always going to be people who believe that plus-size women are not necessarily a healthy body type.
‘I’ve never really let that bother me. I’ve had the typical trolls on social media but I sort of pride myself on being the sort of person that says: “Look, I’m not asking people to be like me but I’m asking people not to judge people. Let them to enjoy their lives, and really just focus on being mentally healthy.”
‘I know how important it is to look after your body – I work as a fitness instructor for Boost Fit.
‘Once you get into the habit of doing exercise and not in a punishing way, it allows you to have more fun with it and enjoy it more.
‘I’m a woman and I’m a mother and I’ve been through my share of dieting drama and I’ve realised that there is more to life than worrying about the numbers on the scale.’
Pageantry has become a huge part of her life and she says that although some people think it is outdated, she feels it still has an important place.
She adds: ‘People that don’t understand pageantry will have the idea that it’s just a beauty contest, but there is so much more to it.
‘We do a lot of philanthropic work and a lot of voluntary work. For the Miss and Ms Great Britain competition, we’re raising money for Cancer Research and Alex’s Wish – a charity for children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
‘There is a huge community effort and a sisterhood. I found friends in this pageant community that I never would have had had I not got involved.
‘It has a place and it’s not all about the aesthetic.
‘You’re judged based on a certain set of criteria but that is not necessarily how lean your body is. It’s about how confident you walk, or you know how happy you look, or how your outfits suit your body type.
‘There’s a focus on how much of a role model you can be to other people.
‘If you don’t know about pageants, find out a bit more before you judge.’
Competing has been life-changing for Kat as she now feels so much more confident, she wants to encourage other women to give it a go.
She adds: ‘I suffered from depression in my teens as I had my daughter at 17 and had a really difficult time. I’ve also had anxiety throughout my life.
‘Having this outlet to explore my creativity has made me so much more confident and really helped me deal with these things.’
Kat hopes to impress at the final tomorrow. You can follow her journey online on her Instagram @kat_v_henry.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/20/im-plus-size-woman-colour-30-can-still-beauty-queen-12275201/
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