Jamaica brings dreadlocks to the Miss World Pageant for the first time

Sanneta Myrie is bringing dreadlocks to the Miss World Pageant for the first time, and she couldn't look more stunning doing it.

TheGrio Staff

Dec 20, 2015

Sanneta Myrie is bringing dreadlocks to the Miss World Pageant for the first time, and she couldn’t look more stunning doing it.

Mryie, a 24-year-old doctor, was crowned Miss Jamaica in August and will be competing in the Miss World competition in China. While she has plenty of talents that deserve attention, including her aspirations to become part of Doctors Without Borders as well as her work as a counselor for the University of the West Indies, it is her hairstyle that has people doing a double-take.

Her long dreadlocks are certainly a rare sight in beauty pageants, and her appearance at the Miss World competition will mark the first time a contestant has worn this hairstyle in the pageant.

This is not the first time Jamaica has broken the dreadlock barrier, with Zahra Redwood as Miss Jamaica appearing in the Miss Universe competition in 2007 sporting the look. Redwood was the first Miss Jamaica crowned of the Rastafarian faith, and Redwood wore her hair in dreadlocks to break down stereotypes about her faith.

“People criticize what they don’t know or understand and develop preconceptions, and so given that, I have gone against what they’ve developed as a stereotype,” Redwood said.

Myrie is following in Redwood’s footsteps.

“My life has always been rooted in the arts and culture which has significantly impacted my own personal style. So even when I select glam, it has to have an ethnic urban twist to it,” she told Jamaica Observer.

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