The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
A week after 24-year-old Iris Mittenaere of France was crowned as the new Miss Universe at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, pageant watchers and commentators still couldn’t get enough of the charming dental-surgery student from Lille who snuck up behind the contest’s frontrunners, including our very own Miss Philippines Maxine Medina, to clinch the title—the first time in almost 64 years a Frenchwoman managed to do so.
After Miss Universe fans recovered from the disappointment they felt after their bets failed to win the crown, many of them soon became smitten with the endearing Iris, whose genuinely warm personality shone through in each stage of the competition, especially in the question-and-answer rounds. Members of the media got to know how warm her personality is during Iris’ first press conference, where she gamely answered questions with a ready smile. She certainly does not fit the stereotype of the cool, snobbish French woman.
That was the first thing I noticed about her some months ago, while watching a few videos of her competing for the Miss France title last year. Unlike our Binibining Pilipinas pageant, its French counterpart seemed to encourage its candidates to have fun, and Iris looked like she was. More than her amazing body and lovely face, it’s Iris’ confidence and down-to-earth personality—shown in the way she walks and talks, in how she responds to questions, in the way she looks to the camera—that struck me the most. She could go far, I remember telling myself then. And she did.
Since Iris’ victory, many bits of information about her have started to surface, many of them remain unverified at the moment. Of these, the most provocative piece comes from the Latin Times website, which says Iris is “rumored to be a lesbian and she could possibly be the first openly gay titleholder.” Say what?
“We are sure her sexuality doesn’t change who she is, but it would be a huge advancement to have an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) icon advancing equality. Mittenaere could be a trailblazer and change everything,” the Latin Times says.
“Although nothing has been confirmed, speculation on social media started after people starting to dig for information and photos of her. On her Instagram (account), they found photos of her with fellow beauty-queen winner Camille Cerf. In the pics, you can see both of them very friendly with each other,” it adds.
Really now. Despite the positive tone, I couldn’t help but detect malice in the piece, and I am sure I’m not the only one who did. Is it possible that the one behind the Latin Times piece can’t get over the fact a European, and not a Latin American, like runners-up Raquel Pelissier of Haiti and Andrea Tovar of Colombia or the unplaced Mariam Habach of Venezuela, is the new Miss Universe? If that’s the case—come on, seriously? How petty.
Anyhow, the Miss Universe website has offered some tidbits about Iris, courtesy of the first interview she did right after winning. Mind you, these are facts and not alternative ones. According to that interview, Iris prefers the beach to the mountains, ice cream to cake (“It’s good on the beach!”), school to work, books to movies (“I read a lot”), chocolate to vanilla, cats to dogs (she has two), morning to night, roommates to living alone, New York to Los Angeles (a no-brainer, since she’s going to be based there during her reign), and scrambled eggs to over easy.
As of this writing, Iris is now in the Big Apple and set to begin her duties as the new Miss Universe. As someone who advocates for dental and oral hygiene, she should find her forthcoming involvement with the Smile Train charity organization to be as rewarding as her expected participation in raising awareness on HIV/AIDS. Her predecessor, the Phiippines’ own Pia Wurtzbach, may have left big shoes for her to fill, but I’m sure she’ll have no troubling fitting into them and making her own mark, just like Pia did.