The entire Philippines knows by now that our representative failed to secure a top 10 spot. While she was obviously a frontrunner just base off of social media and sponsor shoots, Rabiya's energy fizzled when it truly mattered.
I'll keep this commentary short as I do not have the energy - Olivia Culpo's "I'm so above this sh*t" vibe is contagious. I just felt like these things have to be said because some things just keep happening year after year. So let me muster what little energy I have left.
1. POSTURE IS EVERYTHING.
Rabiya is a physical therapist. My guess is that she chose this career path to fix what she already knows is a problem with her back and shoulders. As you can see from the photo above, she has that hump in the area at the base of her nape, along the length of her shoulder blades. This may be genetic, as this seems to be common in women with Indian blood. This may be an adaptive habit from years of being of an awkward height in a population of shorter Filipino locals, trying to round her shoulders forward to make herself look smaller to belong.
Rabiya is a pageant newbie and only had less than a year to work on her body. Which must be why this problematic area wasn't dealt with during training. Why is this important? Rabiya is about the same height as Adline Castelino of India, but Adline, having good posture, looked much taller than Rabiya. Even when Rabiya forces a "power posture" this back and shoulder problem gives an aura of self-doubt and tentativeness. Like she's trying hard to look big and strong but her body says otherwise.
Instead of making Rabiya adopt a "power posture" that sometimes came off as arrogance, they could have done some troubleshooting with a Yoga and Pilates instructor to fix issues that could've given her a more relaxed, less tensed posture.
2. STOP MAKING FILIPINA QUEENS GAIN WEIGHT.
It's such an annoying annoying quirkiness of the Filipino culture that when a woman doesn't fit the sexy stereotype, they force feed that woman into voluptuousness. Fact: Filipinas are short. When you make a Filipina gain weight, they lose visual length, they grow sideways. Filipinas don't grow boobs and hips when you make them gain weight - Filipinas gain chunkiness in the rib/waist area, and width in the jaws, both give an illusion of shortness.
Rabiya's weight was perfect during the Nationals. If anything had to be fixed, it was really just the shoulders/back. But no, fans, trainers, whoever it was that convinced her to gain some weight basically just sabotaged her.
When Rabiya said that she felt lost and struggled with her identity, I knew the new body had a lot to do with her psychological problems.
3. NO TO FAKE-LOOKING BOOBIES.
I cringe every time I read a comment about how nice and sexy her new boobs were. They were simply too big for her frame. They were too round. They were too high. They were too much.
Posture had a lot to do with it. Her spine issues, along with the additional chunkiness in her rib area, made the new boobs look like foreign objects on her chest. They simply did not fall naturally where they should.
Miss Nepal and even some of the cosmetically enhanced Latinas didn't have humongous breasts, but they were drop dead gorgeous in their swimwear. It was all just posture and confidence. And the right work out.
4. GET A TRAINER THAT SPECIALIZES IN PAGEANTS, NOT BODY BUILDING.
I've seen interviews where Rabiya mentioned that her workouts focused mostly in core work. Which isn't bad in theory. But there's a reason the Latinas (and even Miss Australia this year) have tiny tiny waists despite overworking their core muscles. They had nobody telling them to gain some weight.
It's horrible here in the Philippines, misguided fans and aunties go about commenting on women's bodies, telling them, you're too thin. See, when you overwork your core muscles WHILE trying to gain weight, you gain bulk in the midsection. You gain bulk, not definition. Abs are all about definition and NOT BULK.
Again, Rabiya's body was fine during MUP. All she needed to enhance was her shoulders/back posture and do light exercises to gain definition in the stomach area. To tone should always be the goal, NOT TO BUILD, NOT TO GAIN.
5. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT SHOULD NOT INVOLVE PUTTING ON AN ENTIRELY NEW IDENTITY.
Rabiya's winning qualities were her innocence, youthful charm, and purity of her intentions in competing for the Miss Universe crown. She was a go-getter, but there was not a tinge of arrogance and conceit. That was the real Rabiya.
Somewhere along her training, they made Rabiya put on a new self, one that brags about winning, makes haughty promises, and laughs away constructive criticism.
Maybe it wasn't the training, maybe it was Rabiya's way of coping with all the bashings and put downs. Whatever the case, I wish Rabiya stayed true to her core self. Which was essentially what made her win the local crown. She allowed external pressure to strip her her heart, her passion, and her purity. She was made to put on a hyper-competitive spirit, but she simply did not have the nerves of steel that should go with it.
I wish Rabiya could still reclaim her old self.
6. STOP OVERTHINKING THE PRE-PAGEANT WARDROBE.
Seriously. It's a total waste of energy and resources. It helps to get some media mileage by packaging our rep as a fashionable woman with impeccable taste. It helps with sponsorships. It helps with gaining fans and followers. But if it reaches a point where so much money, time, and energy are spent on pre-pageant wardrobe and photoshoots that there isn't much left to spend on outfits that matter: National Costume, Prelim Gown, Finals Gown, etc., then damn let the Thais and Vietnamese and Indonesians get the title of Most Number of Overpriced Outfits.
The Philippines is not rich, nor is it a superpower, heck it's not even a first world country. Why package a Filipina queen as someone who dons diamonds and designer outfits? Filipina queens win because they give one heck of a performance come pageant night - focus on that aspect. Stop competing in areas that don't really matter.
7. STOP SEEKING VALIDATION AND CLOUT.
Filipino fans are toxic. There, I said it. Filipino fans are just ridiculously obsessed with predictions and rankings and comparisons. So much so that it's near impossible to find an honest vlogger or social media page admin. They're all either praising Filipina queens, showering them with undeserved positive comments, all to avoid getting bashed by Filipino fans. OR they're mocking Filipina queens, degrading them in every possible way, all to hype up their own queens, because you know, Filipino fans make the most noise on social media.
All the validation and clout only cheapen Filipina queens. Sure, it has produced queens like Catriona and Pia whose nerves of steel were further strengthened by the negativity, BUT what about queens like Rabiya and Gazini who do not have the same tenacity and mental strength?
It is not Rabiya's (Gazini's) fault that they crack under extreme pressure. But imagine a world were that pressure isn't even there, because it doesn't really have to be there in the first place LOL. See how queens from other countries get to enjoy their Miss Universe experience and therefore are able to give their best performance on prelims and finals? Are we ever going to get another crown considering the standards are just much higher - Miss Philippines should be able to handle severe criticism and bullying.
8. CHOOSE WISELY.
I'm not saying Rabiya was a poor choice. She deserves to represent the country in an international pageant. But if they were going to give her a crown and then change her very identity to fit that crown, doesn't it make more sense to give her a crown that doesn't require her to change who she is? It's easier to win that way.
I mean, Rabiya should've gone to Miss World. That face, that aura, that advocacy, that charm, it's all very Miss World. She could've represented the Philippines in Miss World and not have to change her teeth, her breasts, her weight, her personality. But I understand that when Rabiya joined Miss Iloilo, she was assigned to Miss Universe Philippines because she was ranked the highest so.
I just felt that, you know, MUPH could have deliberated the results differently, considering this is their first foray into MU. Alaiza Malinao's beauty is not my cup of tea, but she is exactly what Miss Universe is looking for. Had the org gone with her, the Philippines could have fared a little better, and Rabiya could have been spared the psychological rollercoaster that she went through the past months.
Well what do you know, I mustered enough energy to finish the post. I still wish Rabiya luck. The world is waiting for her. As for MUPH, I wish they make better decisions next time. Congratulations still.
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