Photo by Jon Jozef ( Instagram handle : @jon.jozef.fashion). Photo supplied by Kiaira Julieanna.

By Curtis Galbraith

Community

Grande Prairie woman hoping to give people with disabilities a voice through pageantry

Nov 1, 2024 | 6:00 AM

A Grande Prairie woman is hoping she can “give the disability community a better voice than ever” by competing in pageants.

Kiaira Julieanna says she was inspired when she came across Personality Pageants.

She says these events encourage participants to find a cause that is close to them. They are then given motivation and ways to reach a bigger audience.

There are several categories, including the cause or charity people want to spread awareness about, along with different fashion aspects, an interview, an on-stage Q&A, organizational skills, and a behavioural category that looks at things like being kind.

“The women that were in personality pageants were the women that I should be talking to and learning from because they’re making changes, especially Canada-wide, and I think that having a disability representation in pageants is really important.”

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Kiaira has cerebral palsy. She says she thinks she can “change how we look at disability and beauty” and “push those standards.”

Kiaira adds she has been given a lot of praise for talking about what she calls “an intimate topic.”

“I think that people look at me as an inspiration, not only because I’m living with a disability, but I am breaking those barriers. I’m continuously putting myself in positions where I can educate people and make them feel confident in themselves.”

Kiaira thinks that having a mild case of cerebral palsy makes her feel “in limbo with not being disabled enough but being too disabled to be independent,” but still believes “pushing those barriers and talking about my perspective has really impacted other people’s lives.”

Kiaira became a mom in April, something that allowed her to talk about things she says are “so personal and so needed.”

“Lots of moms don’t understand that there’s a bunch of women going through the same thing.”

When asked what she hopes other mothers with disabilities will learn from her example, Kiaira says she hopes they see that motherhood is attainable.

“Especially with physical disabilities and not worry about society’s expectations.”

“There’s such a heavy expectation for mothers to be perfect and have it handled in every aspect of their lives, but it’s OK to need a village and it’s OK to ask for help and just because we might have different barriers than an average woman, doesn’t mean that we can’t survive as mothers.”

Kiaira says she has been talking about living with cerebral palsy online since the pandemic but has not reached as many people are she has with personality pageants.

She participated in her first pageant earlier this year in Calgary, winning the Empowerment by Personality award at the 2024 Nationals, an event organized by Personality Pageants International.

Kiaira says this is a special award for someone motivated to, in her words, “change perspectives and break barriers” and has the potential to win a title in the future.

She plans to be at provincials in February.

Kiaira has also started a support group called Mothers Inclusive for moms with disabilities.