Just when you thought you knew everything about beauty pageants - that spectacle of sequins and swimsuits that is a source of national pride in the Philippines and a controversial institution of misogyny as far as feminists are concerned - here come two former beauty queens who paint the competition in a completely different light. With regal poise and consummate grace, Miss International 1964 Gemma Cruz-Araneta and Miss Asia-Pacific 1993 Michelle Aldana flip the entire notion of beauty pageants in ways we never imagined. And yes, it was all for world peace.
