She was once bullied for her looks, but now Jessica Gagen has been crowned for them. Gagen is the first redhead to ever win the Miss England pageant.
The 27-year-old from Skelmersdale in Lancashire said she was once badly mistreated for having those ginger locks.
“I feel like people’s views are changing and that’s one thing I want to use this platform for,” she told BBC. “Last year, I placed second so it wasn’t our year for the redhead. But this year I’ve won it.”
She said getting teased about her hair so some kids can try and make their friends laugh started to affect her self-esteem.
She says she was punched, spit on, and even had things thrown at her head while being called “ginger.”
She even considered dying her hair so she wouldn’t be picked on, but she didn’t want to change herself because of peer pressure or because of other people who don’t know how to act right.
“I don’t have a problem with it myself. It’s just other people. My hair’s my identity. I never want to change it,” she said.
Gager said she started to seek out celebrities and people on social media that looked like her.
Once she started seeing more women with red hair, she began to gain confidence. She encourages others who feel like outsiders to find their own people. Gagen went on to excel in school and sports. She also landed some modeling contracts.
Gagen is now studying to earn her master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Liverpool.
“Part of my winner’s speech, I said about getting girls into piloting and engineering careers as it’s massively male-dominated,” Gagen explained.
Gagen wants people to know that a bad chapter in life doesn’t mean your book of life will have a bad ending.
She wants everyone who finds themselves in a dark place to “keep reading.”
Gagen has received hundreds of messages from redheads that were teased for their hair color after being crowned Miss Lancashire in August.
She also heard from people who said they didn’t realize that the comments they made about ginger-haired people could be hurtful.
Gagen says she was completely shocked when was announced as the pageant winner.
She hopes that the sexism associated with beauty pageants can one day be eliminated and that people will see beauty pageants in a new way.
She said people often have “archaic” views about beauty pageants being a purely superficial display.
But Gagen doesn’t see it that way. She says the pageant can be used to send messages.
“If you get involved, you soon realize all of the girls have their own story, their own mission, and their own reasons for being there. They’re all raising awareness about something close to their heart. It’s about using the platform in a positive way to spread your message,” she said.
Gagen will move on to represent England in the 2023 Miss World contest.
Then she’ll have the opportunity to raise awareness around the world.
She just wants others to know that there are such things as happy endings.
Especially if you’re a beauty queen.
Watch Gagen be crowned in the video below.
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