When people think of beauty pageants, the first thing that comes to mind is little girls or women strutting on stage in big hair, big dresses, and heavy makeup for a panel of judges and an audience that sees their beauty first and brains last.
But today’s beauty pageants are not the same as those of yesteryear. Today’s contestants are intelligent women whose dreams and aspirations are as big as their predecessor’s hair used to be and who see beauty pageants as another platform from which women can share their voices.
Stay-at-home mom, business school student, and couture model Rhyann Crosby uses her voice to uplift, empower, and educate people about trauma. Born into a household defined by domestic abuse, Rhyann continued the pattern as an adult but eventually found the strength to break the cycle for her daughter. She now advocates for women who suffer from intimate partner violence.
The current Mrs. Plano, Rhyann will also be running for America’s Most Beautiful in August with a platform built on domestic abuse awareness. “We all have the power to make a difference. We are all humans and have struggles and falls, but we are all also capable of compassion, understanding, and the ability to reach out to someone who is having a hard time and help them.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone. If you are fortunate enough never to have experienced it, please do not judge those currently struggling. Domestic violence is a very complex issue whose ties are difficult to break. If you know someone living with domestic violence, be there for them. Let them know that they deserve all the good in the world and that you will always be a person they can turn to. Please don’t give up on them.
If you are living with domestic abuse my best advice is to leave, even if you have nowhere else in the world to go. Being safe at a homeless shelter is better than being dead on your living room floor.”
