Beauty Queen Cynthia de la Vega Stripped of Title Over Weight Gain
Mexican beauty queen Cynthia de la Vega won her title as first runner up in the Miss Mexico beauty pageant in September 2010. The title generally comes with several perks including an opportunity to participate in the coveted Miss World pageant.
Unfortunately, a mere six pounds have come in the way of 19-year-old de la Vega's dreams.
According to De la Vega, she was stripped of her title last month because she gained six pounds.
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Beauty pageants have long been criticized for their cutthroat approach to beauty that promotes unhealthy and unrealistic standards of physical attractiveness. However, de la Vega was shocked by the unexpected outcome of her weight gain.
De la Vega works with a trainer and admits to gaining weight but she argues that she was never aware of a clause in her agreement about physical requirements, mainly weight requirements, for the competition.
However, the pageant organizers Nuestra Belleza Mexico have denied that weight gain is the reason for de la Vega's ousting.
Instead, the organization argues that de la Vega was cut off from her title due to a "lack of dedication and discipline" and because she “did not comply with the recommendations and goals agreed upon for her preparation.”
De la Vega spoke to Good Morning America on Tuesday morning where she expressed her disappointment by stating, "I was very, very excited because I thought this would be a great experience."
She continued with, “I was very sad and very deceived. I cried and cried and cried.”
However, de la Vega is not alone in this battle as beauty pageants have a history of being particularly stringent on standards of beauty and weight.
Recently, American teenager Domonique Ramirez, who won the crown of Miss San Antonio, was revoked of her title due to a violation of contract by gaining weight.
Ramirez was allegedly told to “lay off the tacos.” She went to court to fight for the title back. The court awarded Ramirez her title back, and the teenager celebrated while she ate doughnuts in the courtroom.
