Carolina Shiino was recently named the winner of the Miss Nippon Grand Prix contest in Japan. However, her crowning has sparked backlash as some are questioning her Japanese identity.
It can’t be denied that there are a lot of controversial aspects of the beauty pageant industry. They promote unrealistic beauty standards and objectify women. Additionally, many have exhibited ageism, transphobia, and discrimination towards mothers with their strange rules for who can and cannot participate. However, when backlash from the public arises, it’s usually for strange reasons rather than the numerous valid ones. For example, there was a large public outcry when Eve Gilles was crowned Miss France 2024 because … she had a pixie cut.
These already controversial competitions often become worse when viewers feel the need to push their specific perception of beauty or gender identity on others, especially because it is usually a very narrow definition of femininity and beauty. However, the most recent controversy isn’t about beauty or gender identity, but about who has a right to represent Japan in a beauty competition.
Why is Carolina Shiino’s win stirring controversy?
The reason why Shiino’s win has caused controversy is because she is a foreign-born Japanese citizen. Shiino was born in Ternopil, Ukraine, to her Ukrainian mother, Lana Shiino. When she was five years old, Shiino’s mother married a Japanese man, and she and her daughter permanently relocated to Japan. In 2022, Shiino received her Japanese citizenship. When she won Miss Nippon, it marked the first time a naturalized Japanese citizen won the competition.
In her acceptance speech, Shiino indicated that she hoped her win would help with the acceptance of foreign-born citizens. Even before the backlash started, Shiino noted that she had struggled for acceptance in the country. As she explained during her acceptance speech:
It really is like a dream. I’ve faced a racial barrier. Even though I’m Japanese, there have been times when I was not accepted. I’m full of gratitude today that I have been accepted as Japanese. I hope to contribute to building a society that respects diversity and is not judgmental about how people look.
Unfortunately, many users took to social media to express anger over Shiino’s win. Despite being a Japanese citizen, many felt she should have to be of Japanese heritage to win the competition. However, it’s worth noting that Miss Nippon, like beauty competitions across the globe, doesn’t have rules related to ethnicity. The rules only stipulate that participants must be citizens of Japan to participate, similar to how Miss America requires participants to be American citizens. There is no distinguishment between naturalized citizens and natural-born citizens.
The idea of a naturalized citizen winning Miss Nipon shouldn’t be foreign. After all, these are the same rules that the Olympics use. It is common for athletes born in one country to participate in another one, so long as they have citizenship in the country they represent. Controversy arose in 2015 when Eileen Gu competed for China despite being born in the United States, prompting reminders that this phenomenon is nothing new. Some people seem to forget that there is more than one way to become a citizen, and that you can do so without being born in that country. As mentioned above, there is the naturalization process, while some countries, like France, even grant citizenship based on family lineage.
So, if Shiino followed all the rules, and national and global competitions commonly recognize all forms of citizenship, what’s the problem? Unfortunately, most of the dissent is based on racism and xenophobia. Opponents of her win were caught up on the fact that she didn’t look Japanese, despite being a Japanese citizen and having lived in the country almost her whole life. Some also accused her win of being political, given that Japan has provided significant aid to Ukraine amid the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Japan’s foreign aid has also been a point of contention in the country, further highlighting attitudes towards foreigners and the country’s role in international affairs.
In reality, there is nothing controversial about Shiino’s win. She won fairly, adhered to the rules, and is also a citizen of Japan, giving her the right to represent the country. The backlash to her win simply highlights the narrow view many hold about citizenship, and it’s largely the same tired conversation that arises each time the Olympics are held.
(featured image: Hector Vivas, Getty Images)
Published: Jan 26, 2024 03:32 pm