A beauty pageant with a finalist without makeup? We got to see this

The 1970s may have been the high point of feminist activism in the West - women protesting against beauty pageants, burning brassieres, protesting against a mass media culture that 'objectifies women' and peddles other 'tools of female oppression'. But 50 years - and a few bouts of feminism - later, we may have finally hit the stiletto on its heel. Miss England contestant Melisa Raouf has made headlines by going rogue - or rouge-free and lipstick-less - at the pageant's semifinals last week, a first in its 94-year history. By doing so, the 20-year-old has succeeded in making an important (if somewhat dichotomous) statement: about 'being comfortable in one's own skin', and 'makeup being a choice'. Playing both sides, she added she wore toner, moisturiser and lip balm, as the rules very well allowed, and that she still appreciates makeup 'as a form of art and creativity'.

While some may argue the lady doth protest too little, it's proof that pageants have come a long way. Only last month, the Miss Universe contest expanded its selection criteria to allow married women and mothers, proving that pageants can be inclusive to all (except the too-fat, too-short, too-ugly), and that not just beauty but empowerment can also be skin-deep. We'll make up our own minds when we see Raouf in the final on October 17.