Ciara Thompson is using pageant platform to spread anti-bullying message

Ciara Thompson was bullied as a child and encountered the same thing as an adult. Now she’s working to spread an anti-bullying message through a surprising channel: pageants.

Thompson was looking for something to push her out of her comfort zone when she spotted an ad on Facebook for Miss World Canada and decided to check it out. “This is definitely out of my comfort zone,” laughed Thompson. The 24-year-old did some film and television acting as a young teen but had never entered a pageant before. “I grew up playing in the mud. I was more of a tomboy.”

But more than trying something new, it was the opportunity to spread a message that appealed to her. “You get a platform when you are involved in pageants which means that you can talk about something that’s very important to you. Anti-bullying is something that’s important to me and this is a good opportunity to spread awareness.”

She applied to two pageants – Miss North Ontario which is a preliminary event for Miss Universe Canada, and Beauties of 5 Continents which is a Miss World Canada event. Despite the beauty component, Thompson insists that pageants have evolved far beyond their superficial past.

“In recent years, pageants have become less about what one looks like, and more about who that individual is as a person and what they can do to make a difference in their community,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

Many pageants have taken an empowering turn, and have begun to allow many young women and girls the opportunity to perfect essential skills that will be beneficial to their future.

Those skills and activities include public speaking, charity work, promoting positive body images and self-esteem, and community involvement.

Each delegate in the pageant is required to raise funds for charity – Miss North Ontario has an official charity, Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC). The others allow entrants to support their own charity of choice.

Thompson, who is in her last year of Sociology studies at Nipissing University, plans to promote charities that support children and children’s mental health. After graduation, she’ll head to George Brown College for additional education in Behavioural Science Technology and then wants to work as a behavioural therapist for troubled youth and those with mental illness.

“Bullying needs to be addressed, especially since it doesn’t stop in childhood,” said Thompson. “Bullies may remain bullies throughout their lives, and the bullied often stay victimized throughout their lives. Bullying can lead to many future problems, including mental health disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, low self-esteem, or even suicide. It needs to be stopped in childhood so that it doesn’t continue on. I want to promote positive and healthy behaviour among all children.”

If she wins the Miss North Ontario title, Thompson said one of her projects would be starting a Miss Huntsville for young girls, where all would be welcome and beauty wouldn’t enter into it. “It would focus on helping them to build self-esteem and feel good about themselves.”

But first, she needs to continue to promote herself, raise sponsorships for the charity, complete writing assignments on a variety of topics, and make it through the Miss North Ontario gala in May, where Thompson will have just two minutes to talk about her message. The Beauties of 5 Continents pageant will be held in Vancouver in September.

She hopes to inspire both young girls and her entire community through this process. “It’s important to be true to who you are. I have been lucky enough to call Huntsville my home for my entire life,” said Thompson, who went to Spruce Glen Public School and later Huntsville High. “I am absolutely honoured to have been chosen (by Miss North Ontario) to represent such a wonderful community.”

Follow Ciara’s Facebook page here.