Miss UK Gives Back Crown After She’s Told To Lose Weight Sep 2, 2017

Miss UK, Zoiey Smale, 28, who is from Nottinghamshire has handed back her crown after pageant officials told her to lose weight.  In a phone conversation that left the gorgeous Smale speechless, the size 10 mother of one was told that she needed to lose weight to compete at an international level.  Smale decided she would rather stick to her principles and resign as Miss UK than to promote unhealthy beauty standards to young girls.  Smale has been praised for her decision and lauded as a courageous role model.

Zoiey Smale. Smale received a telephone call from pageant officials informing her that she was "too big" to compete at an international level and needed to lose weight. Smale was speechless.

Principles. Smale decided to stick to her beliefs. She returned the crown and refused to let anyone bully her.

Body positivity. Smale wants to promote a healthy body image. She is considered a role model to many young girls, and does not want to promote an unhealthy standard of thinness.

To stand a chance. Smale was told that she needed to lose as much weight as possible in order to stand a chance in further competitions. Shocked, all Smale could respond with was "pardon?"

Ecuador. Smale was supposed to be traveling to Ecuador for a pageant when she received the disturbing phone call. Smale took two weeks to think things over before getting back to the pageant officials.

Size 10. Smale is now working in the sports industry. She is a trim, healthy size 10.

Real queens empower others. Smale wrote a long post on her Facebook page explaining her decision to return the crown. "It shocks me more than anything that there are still pageants out there who only view size 00 girls as role models. Let me tell you something, pageant girls are more than just a number on a clothing tag. Real queens empower others, are intelligent and help communities come together. Just to name a few."

Bullying young girls to be thin. Smale went into detail about the pressure put on pageant contestants to be thin, to the point where they are bullied. "Having been in the industry for over 10 years I have seen it all, from amazing competitions to international pageant directors bullying young aspiring girls into believing the only way to be successful is to be thin. I’m speaking from first hand as 8 years ago I was one of those girls."

The impact on young girls. Smale is concerned with the way beauty pageants impact young girls. As of 2010, the average BMI of a beauty pageant contestant was 16.9, which is underweight.

The cost of competing. Being a Pageant Queen isn't cheap or easy - it's like a full-time job. For serious competitors, evening gowns can cost upwards of $1,000 for gowns off the rack, and $5,000 and up for custom-made gowns. Professional hair and makeup can cost $250 an hour, on top of personal trainers, pageant coaches, professional headshots, transportation, pageant entry fees, etc.

I felt disgusting. Smale opened up about the way the pressure to be thin has affected her mental health and her self-esteem. "Those rogue competitions that claim to be pageants.. yet insist you eat less, parade around in a bikini for a few days and sit at the arm of a man over dinner whilst pushing an olive around a plate… Honey let me tell you, this is NOT a pageant. I was branded ‘fat’ because I am size 10. I actually believed that I was so disgusting that no one would ever love me. How sad is that?"

Millions of contestants. Internationally, there are over 3 million contestants who compete in pageants every year. There are 2.5 million in the US alone on an annual basis.

Depression. Many beauty pageant contestants suffer from depression. Low self-esteem and poor self-image are also common.

Proud of her body. Smale is doing what she can to promote body positivity. She wrote that she was proud of her body; it allowed her to carry a child.

Gratitude. Smale did not say anything disparaging about the pageant itself or the organizers; she expressed gratitude for the experiences and opportunities she had been afforded. She also wished her successor the best of luck. Smale is simply focusing on the positive aspects of her life, including having a healthy body and mind.