Following the lead of contestants in this year’s Miss Peru pageant, who chose to share statistics about women’s oppression in their country rather than their body measurements, Miss Bumbum 2017 contestants also used their platform to get political.
This year, contestants in the butt-focused pageant brought politics to the forefront, protesting against sexual harassment and the country’s corrupt president, Michel Temer. But that didn’t stop winner Rosie Oliveira from being groped in the middle of an interview following her win, according to this harrowing description from Maxim:
Shortly after Oliveira was crowned the winner, a drunk guy grabbed her behind during an interview.
“This is exactly what I want to fight against,” the 28-year-old said after slapping him across the face.
“Just because I’m Miss Bumbum doesn’t mean they can disrespect me. I want to show women you can still have a big beautiful bottom and not be treated like an object.”
Even before taking the crown, Oliveira was always set on using the Miss Bumbum pageant to talk about Brazilian politics, according to the Washington Post:
“I want to live to see political reform,” Oliveira wrote in her contestant page. “I have no children and the country we live in keeps me from that dream. I want to have children and for them to live in a better Brazil than we live in today.”
Oliveira was not alone. Earlier in the year, some contestants campaigned wearing t-shirts that read #ForaTemer, which means “out with Temer,” the current Brazilian president. Temer is currently immersed in a corruption scandal and the slogan is popular political talking point. Can you imagine Miss America wearing a “Dump Trump” t-shirt leading up to the pageant?
Oliveira also took the stage with a Brazilian flag sporting the same hashtag.
Contestants also focused specifically on women’s issues, with some posing for an image of themselves dressed up in meat “beef-kinis” to protest sexual harassment, according to HuffPost, with organizers saying the meaning behind the visual stunt is that “women are not just a piece of meat.”
There’s room for plenty of messages on the Bumbum stage.