Right-wingers freak out because Miss France has “woke” short hair

Look up the original definition of “woke” circa 2020 and you’ll find “alert to racial prejudice, discrimination and white supremacy.”

Now, for muckraking tabloids and probably Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), “woke” apparently just means “short hair.”

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The newest definition comes in the wake of 20-year-old Eve Gilles taking the title of Miss France last Saturday night. The French beauty representing Nord-Pas-de-Calais snatched the crown sporting a pixie cut straight out of a 1990s supermodel lookbook.

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It was the first win for a Miss France contestant with short hair in the competition’s 103-year history.

Eve Gilles, a woman with short hair wins miss france and the tabloids get angry saying the judges have gone ‘woke’ as her hair isn’t long. i feel they’ve gone with a fabulous 80/90 vibe and a look that is strikingly different from the other woman. 👏🏼👏🏼#MissFrance pic.twitter.com/ho9AcKTPzR

— emma woodcock (@Green_Yogi) December 18, 2023

“We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair,” explained Gilles after the contest.

It was a win for “diversity”, she said, adding that “no one should dictate who you are.”

The model-thin beauty queen, who grew up wanting to be an equestrian, shared during the contest, “I would like to show that the competition is evolving and society, too. That the representation of women is diverse. In my opinion, beauty is not limited to a haircut or shapes that we have — or not.”

“Every woman is different,” she added. “We are all unique.”

But not according to the right-wing outrage machine ginning up a controversy that doesn’t really exist. Leading the charge: the UK’s far right-leaning Daily Mail.

“Critics said the kind of long hair favored by previous winners – and Gallic female icons such as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve – would have been far more appropriate than a short pixie bob,” snarked the British tabloid, without quoting those critics in particular.

The Franco-phobic Telegraph jumped on the scrum as well, describing Miss France as “boyish” and “androgynous”.

And according to more than one post on Elon Musk’s X, Gilles’s triumph for “diversity” is just another rigged result of the left’s obsession with “woke”.

“Miss France is no longer a beauty contest but a woke contest which is based on inclusiveness,” read one tired take.

“We don’t care about her haircut, but the androgynous body is obviously there to serve as woke,” read another.

It was left to French-American actress Beatrice Rosen of 2012 fame, and no “woke” fan herself, to disarm fellow right-wing critics with a spirited defense of Gilles.

“I understand that there is a real element fed up with the wokism that they are trying to make us swallow 24/7, BUT, in the same way that we can criticize a religion but NOT the faithful, I find the sometimes nasty criticisms regarding Eve unfair and counterproductive. 

“Attacking the physical is an attack below the belt, and putting the weight of the total ideological criticism of Wokism on a young woman of 20 is unfair.

“This young woman is pretty, and feminine ‘despite’ her short hair. I was and still am an admirer of the singular beauty of Audrey Hepburn, Linda Evangelista, or Jean Seberg, all 3 very thin with short hair, and who nevertheless are female icons who have been adored in the whole world.”

Bravo à Ève Gilles pour son élection à Miss France 2024.

J'ai lu les critiques et voici mon avis:

Tout d'abord je comprends qu'il y a un vrai ras-le-bol ambiant du wokisme qu'on essaye de nous faire avaler H24, MAIS, de la même façon qu'on peut critiquer une religion mais PAS… https://t.co/fDgxjkasVa pic.twitter.com/owA6ObJ5bs

— Beatrice Rosen (@Beatrice_Rosen) December 17, 2023

During her 12-month reign as Miss France, Gilles won’t be allowed to gain weight, display tattoos or — critics notwithstanding — change her hairstyle.

As for failing presidential candidate and anti-woke activist Ron DeSantis — whose White House bid was recently described as “rotting” — no word yet on if Gilles’s win proves Florida > France.

DeSantis did, however, recently described his only female opponent, Nikki Haley, as “tricky” and beholden to “the woke corporate agenda.”