We know Filipinos take their beauty queens and pageants very seriously, to the point that they almost always expect their representatives to bring home the bacon, we mean the crown. But truth be told, crowns are not like manna from heaven for the Philippines. We win some, we lose plenty.

It’s bad enough that Filipinos resort to sour grapes whenever our representatives don’t win the crown, or at least make it to the top 20 or top 5. It’s worse when our representative displays un-sportsmanship behavior.

If we were to believe Miss Grand International owner Mr. Nawat that Miss Philippines Nikki De Moura walked out of the pageant after she failed to make it to the top 20, then we have a problem.

Self-confidence is a great virtue, but a misplaced entitlement? That’s not what real queens are made of.

In the grand spectacle of Miss Universe, where intellect, poise, and charisma supposedly reign supreme, we find ourselves pondering the most pressing question of our time: could Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee’s short hair be her Achilles heel in the battle for the crown?

Let’s turn the clock back to 2015, when Miss Colombia triumphed over the first runner-up and crowd favorite, Miss Jamaica, who dared to defy the convention of flowing locks in favor of a fabulous short hairdo. Was it a hair-raising defeat for Miss Jamaica? Some would say so.

And how can we forget the stunning, short-haired 2018 Miss Universe Vietnam who made it all the way to the top 5, sans the crown?

In the world of beauty pageants, where gravity-defying updos and cascading tresses have historically been de rigueur, could Miss Dee’s chic, short hair send shockwaves through the Universe? The cosmic forces of pageant tradition seem to favor the cascading Rapunzel look, but let’s not forget, it’s 2023! Perhaps it’s time for the Universe to embrace diversity, individuality, and the audacity of fabulous short hair. After all, shouldn’t the Universe crown a queen based on substance, not just style?