\u201cIt really gave me opportunity to just identify who I am, what I stand for what I believe in,” she said. “And where I want to go.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Recently, she won the national title of Mrs. Plus America in a competition of over a dozen women size 12 or larger.\u00a0Before winning this title, she won the South Carolina level of the competition for married women only.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the main part about pageantry is you’ve conquered all of that once you get on stage. No matter what the judges say you’ve conquered the insecurities and I feel that made you a winner right then and there,\u201d Sumter said.<\/p>\n
For Sumter,<\/strong> her victory meant more than just a crown. It was a chance for her to show those watching the pageant that all people of all sizes can glow with accomplishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t just have to be a specific body type,<\/strong> you don’t have to be a specific race, you don’t have to have your hair a certain way, in order to stand out in order to speak out and really have a presence and I think that’s really what it’s about,“<\/strong> says Sumter.<\/p>\n Although there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done,\u00a0<\/strong>the efforts of pageants like Miss Plus America are definitely giving women a glimmer of hope, she said.<\/p>\n \u00a0Ayanna White of Columbia, a friend of Sumter’s, said she experienced that as she watched Sumter receive her national title.<\/p>\n \u201cIt showed that you just accept yourself no matter what, no matter what people seem or deem as a standard of beauty… whether you\u2019re big, tall, small, whatever, you just have to accept yourself and love the person that you are,\u201d Sumter said.<\/p>\n Whether she has a crown on her head or not,<\/strong> Sumter hopes to continue empowering women like White with messages of empowerment.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways shine. Never let anyone or anything dim your light, because who you are is worth it, and I live that to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.0.1″][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/brit-2-1.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 1″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.1.0″]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.0.1.1″]<\/p>\n Brittany Sumter posing as the newly crowned Mrs. Plus America.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brittany Sumter aims to inspire others by competing in plus size pageants and spreading the message of body positivity. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":203,"featured_media":29879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" When you hear the word beautiful it seems that it should go without saying that in our own way\u2026 we all are.<\/p> But what happens when society sets a standard of beauty based on a body type that doesn\u2019t look anything like yours?<\/p> Well for Brittany Sumter (Columbia, S.C.\u00a0where does she live? and what does she do?<\/span> she decided to challenge this standard head on by competing in pageants that are inclusive and accepting to plus size women.<\/p> \u201cIt really gave me opportunity to just identify who I am, what I stand for what I believe in. And where I want to go,\u201d she says.<\/p> Recently she won the national title of Mrs. Plus America was this her first time competing in this - or any - pageant?<\/span> and was able to show the country her true essence as a full-figured woman. Where and exactly when was this pageant? How many women competed? What are the specific requirements? Is it only for married women? It's called the Mrs. Plus America.<\/span><\/p> \u201cI think the main part about pageantry is you've conquered all of that conquered all of what?<\/span> once you get on stage, no matter what the judges say you've conquered the insecurities and I feel that made you a winner right then and there,\u201d says Sumter. the previous sentence is a run-on.<\/span><\/p> But for Brittany check AP style on second reference<\/span> her victory meant more than just a crown, it was a chance for her to show everyone watching that they have a special glow too. the previous sentence is a run-on<\/span><\/p> \u201cYou don't just have to be a specific body type you don't have to be a specific race, you don't have to have your hair a certain way, in order to stand out in order to speak out and really have a presence and I think that's really what it's about, says Sumter.<\/p> Although there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done to fully change the image of beauty to one that is inclusive to all body types the efforts of pageants like Miss Plus America are definitely giving women a glimmer of hope.<\/p> For Ayanna White who is she? where does she live? did she know Sumter before the pageant?<\/span> that hope was something she experienced firsthand in the audience as she watched Brittany check AP style on second reference<\/span> receive her national title.<\/p> \u201cIt showed that you just accept yourself no matter what, no matter what people seem or deem as a standard of beauty, quote unquote, whether you\u2019re big, tall, small, whatever you just have to accept yourself and love the person that you are,\u201d Sumter says.<\/p> Whether she has a crown on her head or not Brittany check AP style<\/span> hopes to continue empowering women like Ayanna with messages like this\u2026<\/p> \u201cAlways shine never let anyone or anything dim your light. Because who you are is worth it, and I live that to this day.\u201d<\/p>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/brit-3-300x300.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/brit-2-200x300.jpg\")
<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[527,454,1528,1529],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/203"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26675"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30108,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26675\/revisions\/30108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}