A mum from Renfrewshire is in the running to be declared Ms Great Britain after she made it to the finals of the competition.
Hailing from Bishopton, Sarah-Victoria Bayley is hoping to put Renfrewshire on the beauty map as she vies to be crowned Ms Great Britain in this year’s final happening later this year in October.
And the mum of three, who has been diagnosed with 38 different medical conditions wants to use her platform to enhance and improve the opportunities for disabled people in the media industry saying that if she wins, it will give “those of us who are ‘different’ hope that things are getting better.”
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Sarah, 39, said that not a day has gone by in the past ten years that she has not felt pain. She has had to deal with fibromyalgia, B12 deficiency, Circadian rhythm sleep disorder and anxiety problems amongst others. Her conditions mean that she has to use a wheelchair when outside or travelling long distances.
Sarah said: “As far as I am aware I am the first (and currently only) disabled/wheelchair user that has been a contestant. I am hoping that more people will hear about me competing and it will lead to better representation and more disabled contestants moving forward.”
She continued: “I feel that all aspects of media and being in the public spotlight is dismissive of disabled people. When people hear the word disabled it often conjures up thoughts of being broken and ugly. After all, the word itself means not able. I definitely think that society as a whole is moving forward towards inclusion but it still has far to go. We need to educate others that disabled isn’t an ugly word and that disabled people come in all shapes and sizes and may or may not have walking aids.
“Every single person, disabled or not, has merit in this world and I think it’s great that we are slowly starting to see the change in the fashion industry towards plus size models and ethnic minorities. I am hopeful that soon it will also lead to having more disabled models and television presenters etc. Women in particular no longer only want to see these beautiful, slim, able bodied girls showing outfits when we shop online.”
The finals will be taking place on Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21 in the Grand Mercure hotel in Leicester. On the Thursday, contestants will be interviewed by judges and in the evening the public can attend a fashion show round. The winners of the charity award (who raised the most for Alex’s Wish and Cancer Research UK), best in interview and Ms publicity will then be announced.
The Friday will see the contestants go up against one another in the swimwear and evening wear contest at the the Athena events hall in Leicester. The winner of Ms Great Britain will then be declared.
“It feels amazing to be in the finals.” Said Sarah.
She continued: “I know it sounds cheesy and cliche but I genuinely feel honoured to be representing other disabled people out there. I competed last year and was in the top 11 which was such an amazing experience. I am determined that I will go back bigger and better this year and hopefully make history by becoming the first ever disabled queen in the 77 year history of the Miss Great Britain system.”
Sarah is competing in the Ms category which is for women aged 28 to 44 alongside 11 other contestants.
There is also the Miss category for 18 to 27 and the Ms Classic for 45+.
As much as she wants to win the competition, Sarah says that just competing alone is already helping her achieve her aims of altering people’s perceptions of disabled people.
She said: “I feel that even if I don’t win I will be achieving some of my goals as other women out there will see this disabled, plus size, almost 40 year old taking part against all odds and they will know that if I can do it then they can do it.
“I’d love to inspire people from all walks of life and if even just one person sees me doing this and thinks ‘wow, someone like me can do this! You don’t have to be perfect’ then I have done what I set out to do.
“Many young women look up to models and beauty queens etc and I want those with disabilities to see themselves represented and know that they can grow up to do whatever they want if they put their mind to it.”
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