Remember the 26 year old Justine Clarke who became the first Australian woman in a wheelchair to compete in the Miss World Australia contest? Despite of failing to qualify to the national level, Justine refuses to give up. The beauty queen, who suffers a lower leg deformity, is now determined to compete in the national finals in a bid to pursue her dream of appearing on the world stage.
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Justine will have to raise the most money for the children's charity Variety via her fundraising campaign to compete in the national finals. “I want to get to the world so I could compete with any other girl in the world as the first wheel chair person. Hopefully I will be winning, there's no hopefully winning. There will be "I will be going to the finals,” said Justine.
The young beauty opened up about the stereotypes in the society regarding physical disabilities and how it’s now time to break free from those stereotypes. “There's more to me than just being in a wheelchair,” she said. Talking about her disability and sharing her past experiences, Justine shares, “You do get told, you can't do this, you can't do that because of your differences". Justine had also heard people say, "you're not beautiful because you're not walking". To which she responds, “But to me, I'm like "well, I'm sitting down, at least I don't have to walk,' she said as she laughed, adding: '... Well that's their opinion.”
The meaning of beauty has changed over the years, and it’s no more about the physical appearance. International pageants have time and again proven that time has changed and it’s time one respects the inner beauty of a woman as well. In fact international fashion shows are also moving out of the stereotype of having a tall lean good-looking model for ramp walk. David "Avocado" Wolfe, a raw foodist, promoter of alternative medicine, conspiracy theorist, entrepreneur, and spokesman for the NutriBullet recently shared a video, that showed physically disabled girls taking up the ramp, and doing it as good as any other international runway models. Check out for yourself...
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Justine Clarke is truly a beauty with a cause, and it doesn’t get more inspirational than this. "For somebody in a wheelchair to be able to compete is a big thing. I really hope it sends a message that no matter what your race, size or disability--whatever makes you different--you are beautiful," says Justine, and we couldn’t agree more. What about you? Share your views in the comment section below...