Beauty queens fighting back!
On June 30, Isabella Gaines—the reigning Miss Greater Port City’s Outstanding Teen from Wilmington, North Carolina—hopped on Twitter to read the latest tweet she had been tagged in, only to discover that a makeup-free photo of her had been posted as a form of cyberbullying.
Shared by the anonymous Twitter handle @kwurtyup (aka “NCOT no makeup: The page where you’ll find the prettiest NCOT girls WITH NO MAKEUP! YUCK!”), the tweet, which included pictures of the pageant contestant with and without makeup, read, “This is the same person in both pics, amazing what makeup can do @bellagainess.”
So what did Gaines do in response? Own it. The blonde beauty took to Instagram to share her own post, which not only included a screenshot of the original tweet, but also featured more pics of herself without any makeup. This is how she captioned that post:
“1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord sees not as man sees: Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
Tonight I received a Twitter notification that directed me to a tweet I found to be offensive and degrading. I used to be very insecure about how I looked without makeup, but I am comfortable in my own skin and have accepted I am not flawless because I know I’m made in God’s image. In order to remain kind I follow what I perceive to be the Golden Rule which is ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Rude or ugly comments hurt and destroy self-esteem. Beauty comes from within. I just wanted to remind everyone that you are all beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image.”
Since then, a whole army of pageant beauties, including Miss America Kira Kazantsev, has used social media to share photos of themselves without a stitch of foundation, concealer, or mascara—and of course, they still look stunning. Scroll down to see some of the powerful pics.
Supporting @bellagainess #nomakeupselfie campaign to combat bullying @MissAmericaOrg @MissNCPageant #GettingReal pic.twitter.com/R92yw2ld84
— Gretchen Carlson (@GretchenCarlson) July 9, 2015
Bella and I are more than excited from all the support we received???? Bare faces and loving it! #Nomakeupselfie pic.twitter.com/eveuEKTQR3
— Kenzie Hansley (@KenzieHansley) July 2, 2015
You don’t need makeup to feel beautiful. I feel beautiful in both of these! I am unapologetically me#nomakeupselfie https://t.co/9GMLX2jPxI
— Kenzie Hansley (@KenzieHansley) July 1, 2015
