MISS Universe Catriona Gray is conĀfident despite having stretch marks noting it makes her a natural woman.
She wants other girls to feel the same way about their body.
ā(It) should be OK, shouldnāt it? I mean, every woman has flaws or theyāre not really flaws, but they just make us natural, itās what we have as woman,ā she said in a recent interview on āKapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.ā
āAnd I think itās refreshing for people to see that, for young girls to look up and see, āOh! She has tiger stripes too,ā you know. āWhy should I feel like I need to hide them? Why do I not feel like Iām confident in them? I should be.ā And thatās the kind of diaĀlogue I wanna start,ā she added.
When award-winning broadcast journalist JessiĀca Soho, who conducted the interview, said she couldnāt believe Gray has flaws she retorted: āWho doesnāt, right? Itās a part of being a woman. Iām a regular person just like anyone else.ā
The FilipiĀno-Australian beauty queen also opened up about havĀing scoliosis.
āI think that was drawn out of proportion. Yes, I have scoliosis, but it has never stopped me. I feel like it was blown out of proĀportion a little bit. Yes, I have scoliosis, yes it causes me discomfort, but thatās all,ā she said.
Gray added: āIt has never made me cry, it has never put me in excruciating pain and Iāve never seen it as a barriĀer to what I wanna pursue and what I want to do…. so itās just a part that makes me unique. Itās something that Iāve had or diagnosed with at 12 years old and it only causes me mild discomfort, thatās all.ā
Soho described Gray as sexy and nerdy which for her is a ādeadly comĀbination.ā
Gray answered: āI think they call me nerdy because I do like all my presentations on Powerpoint, I like to write out my notes, Iām a note taker, thatās just because growing up I was very academic, I was very studious and I read a lot.ā
The fourth Miss Universe from the Philippines also reveals that she is a certified foodie and blackĀbelter at the age of 12.
While she was never bullied as a kid, having a background in martial arts allowed her confiĀdence, Gray said.
āI mean, thatās not the point of martial arts, itās more about being able to deĀfend yourself and having that confidence in your character that if the situation were to ever arise, that you could defend yourself, and thatās all Iāve seen, Iāve never seen it as a like āDonāt mess with me.ā But yeah, itās just something that really build up my confidence as a kid. I never experienced bullying and I feel like that was the big part of that,ā Gray explained. Ā (ROBERT R. REQUINTINA)