In a dust-up that is nothing short of peak 2023, the newly-crowned Miss France is getting blasted for being the first winner in the pageant’s 103-year history with short hair and for being too thin.

“People criticizing me over my hair doesn’t bother me, because I can change my hair,” Gilles told the French daily Le Parisien after she won the contest. “I chose this hair, but I didn’t choose my body or my metabolism. I don’t understand how someone can criticize a person over something they cannot change.”

Eve Gilles, a 20-year-old from Nord-pas-de-Calais, looked lovely as she was crowned on Saturday, sporting a pixie haircut that complemented her perfectly. It appears that she is using her haircut, however, to make a political statement.

The length of her hair and her weight set off critics on social media who accused the judges of supporting “wokeness” because they selected a candidate with an “androgynous” look. Gilles responded that every woman is different and that should be celebrated not ridiculed.

(Video Credit: FOX 26 Houston)

“We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair,” she commented after she was crowned Miss France according to Fox News. “No one should dictate who you are… every woman is different, we’re all unique.”

“There is no one way to be Miss Universe or Miss France, and we embrace every look that comes across our stage. We represent the times, and being your confident unique self is the one thing we see being reflected in all of our winners,” a spokesperson for the Miss Universe pageant said in a statement given to People Magazine.

The spokesperson also noted that the pageant contestants sported a number of hairstyles this year and asserted that the last winner of the title, Sheynnis Palacios, had shorter hair as well.

“We saw personal styles and hair of all types – and we love it! Short, long, curly,” the statement went on to contend in defense of the hairstyle.

Félicitations à Eve Gilles #MissFrance2024 !! ✨ pic.twitter.com/2CDgQ7iyf5

— Miss France (@MissFrance) December 17, 2023

“Miss France is decided by a combination of a public vote and a jury of seven women. Though Gilles placed third in the public vote, the jury’s vote allowed her to shoot up to first place,” Fox News wrote.

Gilles publicly espoused diversity after her win, which came across as very “woke.”

“I want to be a strong woman, I want to make people realize that no matter where you start, no matter what path you take, you can achieve your goals. I want to show people that women are diverse, that we’re all beautiful, that we’re all different and unique. I’m not unique because of my hair, I’m unique because I’m Eve,” she stated according to Fox News.

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Paris-based financial researcher Philippe Herlin slammed Gilles on X, “Miss France 2024 doesn’t look like much, but she says the right things. Want to bet that next year Miss France will be trans?”

“Are you a Miss or Mister?” one commenter wrote on Miss France’s official Instagram account according to NBC News. Another remarked, “They absolutely want to eliminate classic feminine codes!”

This is the second year that the Miss France competition has instituted laxer restrictions concerning the appearance of all contestants in the name of greater diversity. There is no longer an age limit for the pageant. It also does not ban women who are married (which makes the title a misnomer), have children, or have tattoos.

FLASH | Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Ève Gilles, est élue #MissFrance2024. pic.twitter.com/U8mZrmPhuO

— Cerfia (@CerfiaFR) December 16, 2023

“Gilles, who is studying mathematics and statistics at university, represents the northern Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, the fourth contestant from the region to take home the crown in 10 years,” Euronews reported.

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