Ysabel Bisnath

Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2018

On August 05th, 2018, Ysabel Bisnath won the Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2018 title and was crowned by her predecessor Chandini Chanka. ^[6] The graduate of the University of Oxford in England swept the competition’s specialty awards en route to the crowning achievement, winning all four categories, including Miss Multimedia, Miss Photogenic, Spirit of the Pageant and People’s Choice.^[7] The wife of the prime minister, ambassadors and other high profile dignitaries, attended this red carpet affair.

“Actually, my parents were very hesitant about me entering the pageant. They have heard the press about previous franchises and pageant titleholders, and they felt that it was not the route I should go down,” she offered by explanation. “Law is a very conservative profession. Your reputation, your integrity and your independence mean so much in the professional world, so you can’t take anything that could potentially be counterproductive to that very lightly. But when they saw how the franchise was run and how the whole organisation has been, they completely changed their point of view.” ^[8] But even with her parents’ change of heart, she knew they were still very concerned about their daughter now becoming a public figure – both locally and internationally.

“I really thought about it quite a lot before I entered. I researched the Miss World organization, and saw that the focus is less on modeling and fashion necessarily than it is on charity work,” she explained. “What you get the most marks for, and what we’re really tightening up now, is the charity project, much more than appearances and designers and clothes. I think that really shows where the emphasis is.” ^[9]

But don’t take that to mean that being interested in beauty and fashion is a frivolous thing either, because Ysabel thinks that there’s a balance – and you can be both well-educated and attractive, both charitable and fashionable, both interested in personal growth and looks.

“I think that you can be feminine and feminist at the same time. You can love beauty and taking care of yourself, but you can also be an independent woman, a lawyer, a doctor, whatever you want to be,” she continued. ^[10]

“We’re not circumscribed to fit into different boxes anymore. We’re much more tolerant of diversity, and I hate to perpetuate that dichotomy and stereotype – that women who are interested in fashion and beauty are superficial and silly. I don’t want to continue that.”

It’s a powerful statement, but Ysabel is no stranger to taking control. In fact, even during the final question portion of the night at the Miss T&T crowning, she held her hand out to hold the microphone herself, asking the male host Rome a simple ‘May I?”. The audience erupted in laughter, but she wasn’t joking. In fact, she was as serious as ever. But if you’d tell her years ago that she’d have the courage to do that in front of a live audience, she’d be the first to laugh at you. ^[11]

“I never envisaged myself representing my country as a beauty queen,” Bisnath admitted. “I thought surely I am representing my country in different ways as one of the few Caribbean students at Oxford at the time or in my various roles around the world and in travels. I always share about my country and our culture, but I never really thought it would be like this on an international stage; but I am excited about the challenge it presents and the opportunities that it brings too.” ^[12]