For the first time in the 100-year history of the beauty pageant in France, Miss France has short hair. But online, quite a few people criticized the decision.

20-year-old Eve Gilles, who won the competition and caught the eye for her pixie haircut, called the achievement a "victory for diversity".

"No one can tell you who you should be," she told the audience. "We are used to seeing beautiful girls with long hair in pageants, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair(...) every woman is different, we are all unique."

On social media, critics disagreed with the decision. According to them, she was chosen as Miss France simply because of the "woke" culture.

St. ed. Wokeness or Woke is a term that means "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination." Starting in the 2010s, the term included a wider awareness of social inequalities such as racial injustice, sexism, denial of LGBT rights, etc.

"Miss France 2024 just says the right things. Want to bet that a transgender woman will win next year?" someone wrote on the internet.

People have accused him of performative wokeness - pretending to be in solidarity with other people.

"People criticizing my hair don't bother me because I can change my hair," Eve told Le Parisien. "I chose this hair, but I didn't choose my body, or my metabolism."