A Bishopton mum will be competing in the finals of Ms Great Britain this week.
Sarah-Victoria Bayley is hoping her appearance in the competition will put Renfrewshire on the beauty map.
And the mum-of-three, who has been diagnosed with 38 different medical conditions, wants to use her platform to enhance and improve the opportunities for disabled people in the media industry – saying that, if she wins, it will give “those of us who are ‘different’ hope that things are getting better”.
Speaking to the Paisley Daily Express in July following the unveiling of the shortlist for the finals, Sarah, 39, said that not a day has gone by in the past 10 years that she has not felt pain.
She has had to deal with fibromyalgia, B12 deficiency, Circadian rhythm sleep disorder and anxiety problems among others. Her conditions mean that she has to use a wheelchair when outside or travelling long distances.
“As far as I am aware I am the first and currently only disabled/wheelchair user that has been a contestant,” Sarah said. “I am hoping that more people will hear about me competing and it will lead to better representation and more disabled contestants moving forward.”
She continued: “I feel that all aspects of media and being in the public spotlight are dismissive of disabled people. When people hear the word disabled, it often conjures up thoughts of being broken and ugly.
“After all, the word itself means not able. I definitely think that society as a whole is moving forward towards inclusion but it still has far to go.
“We need to educate others that disabled isn’t an ugly word and that disabled people come in all shapes and sizes and may or may not have walking aids.
“Every single person, disabled or not, has merit in this world and I think it’s great that we are slowly starting to see the change in the fashion industry towards plus-size models and ethnic minorities.
“I’m hopeful that soon it will also lead to having more disabled models and television presenters. Women in particular no longer only want to see these beautiful, slim, able-bodied girls showing outfits when we shop online.”
The finals will take place this Thursday and Friday in the Grand Mercure Hotel in Leicester.
Sarah is competing in the Ms category, which is for women aged 28 to 44, alongside 11 other contestants.
As much as she wants to win the competition, Sarah says that just participating alone is already helping her achieve her aims of altering people’s perceptions of disabled people.
She said: “I feel that even if I don’t win I will be achieving some of my goals as other women out there will see this disabled, plus size, almost 40-year-old taking part against all odds and they will know that if I can do it then they can do it.
“I’d love to inspire people from all walks of life and if even just one person sees me doing this and thinks, ‘Wow, someone like me can do this! You don’t have to be perfect’ then I have done what I set out to do.
“Many young women look up to models and beauty queens etc and I want those with disabilities to see themselves represented and know that they can grow up to do whatever they want if they put their mind to it.”
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