Beauty pageants have long served as platforms that perpetuate harmful beauty standards, portraying only a narrow definition of beauty – young, slim, and fair. This limited portrayal excludes a diverse array of body types, skin tones, and ages, reinforcing the notion that only a specific set of characteristics qualify as beautiful.
However, Alejandra Rodriguez is redefining these beauty standards. She is 60 years old. She is a model. And she recently won Miss Universe Buenos Aires.
Rodriguez made history when she became the first 60-year-old to win the Miss Universe Buenos Aires beauty pageant. The lawyer competed against 34 other women, ranging in age from 18 to 73, to take the title.
Looking forward, Rodriguez is now planning to compete for Argentina’s Miss Universe title on May 25.
If successful, she could be heading to the 73rd global Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico, later this year, Hola! and the Buenos Aires Times reported.
“I am thrilled to be representing this new paradigm in beauty pageants, because we are inaugurating a new stage in which women are not only physical beauty but another set of values,” Rodríguez said to the media outlets following her win in Buenos Aires. “I am the first of this generation to start with this.”
In September 2023, the Miss Universe Organisation revealed Miss Universe pageants would no longer be subject to an age limit.
While previous contestants had to be between the ages of 18-28 to enter, from 2024 onwards, any woman over the age of 18 can compete.
However, Rodriguez is not the only older woman who’s shaking up the pageant norms in their country with their debut.
Hola! previously reported Haidy Cruz, 47, won the Miss Universe Dominican Republic title and will be representing her country in the global Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City.
Still, Rodriguez said her focus now lies in achieving her next goal – taking the title of Miss Universe Argentina at the country’s pageant on May 25.
“I think the judges saw my confidence and my passion to represent the women of my generation,” Rodriguez said, as reported by the Independent. “I am determined to fight for the crown of Miss Universe Argentina 2024.”
