Miss England waging war on body stereotypes

Milla Magee at Fistral: I tried to conform to what society told me I should look like

Milla Magee was crowned Miss England in May with some reports calling her the first plus size Miss England.

The 23-year-old said whatever your size "it doesn't matter" and she wants to use her reign to spread the message.

She lives in Newquay in Cornwall, but grew up in London where she was surrounded by rock 'n' roll, with a mum who worked at Creation Records, the label of Oasis and Primal Scream.

Her godmother is Noel Gallagher's ex-wife Meg Matthews, and Milla was "trying to conform to the lifestyle".

"I went to an all-girls school and I think that's where the struggle started," she said.

"A lot of the other girls were petite and small.

"It's not in my bone structure to look like that but I tried to conform to that because it's what society told me I had to look like."

London is more than "half the world away" from Newquay's Fistral Beach for Milla Magee

What followed was body dysmorphia, a condition which causes people to believe they are extremely ugly.

She said: "And then I just it dawned on me, I thought, 'no, I will make it my style'."

Looking back to curvy beauties of the past such as Marilyn Monroe was her inspiration.

"We had role models of women back in the day, like the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe, who was curvaceous, or models like Naomi Campbell, who are very tall and athletically built," she said.

"And they're so beautiful, and embrace their looks.

"It's about embracing whatever we've been born with and it's still beautiful."

Now, winning the Miss England title as the only size 16 in the line-up, she wants to be "that representative that I wish I had".

Milla said her message was to stay true to yourself

What also helped her shun the demands of the body perfect was surfing on trips down from London and in Newquay where she has lived since she was 16.

"Surfing saved my life because at that time living in London I struggled a lot mentally and that was trying to conform to the lifestyle that I was born into," she said.

"It was a very different lifestyle to the way I live now.

"I was trying to conform to my surroundings because we've got this image of what men and women should look like.

"But if you're passionate and stay true to yourself, if you're kind and humble that's all that matters."

Milla Magee credits surfing with saving her life

She took this body positive message all the way to the podium when she was crowned Miss England in May.

She accepted there was still a tension between what was perceived by many as a beauty contest and shunning body stereotypes, but urges a different outlook on the contest.

She said rather than being a beauty contest the ethos of Miss England is now "beauty with a purpose".

"I wanted to be part of the movement to change perspective on these so-called pageants," she said.

"It's evolved so much with women from all walks of life coming together.

"We've had firefighters, we've had lawyers, we've had doctors, myself as the first surfer and lifeguard to represent.

"You can't not be inspired by the women around you. It's not about the physical on the outside, it's about beauty from the inside."

Milla Magee wants to use her voice to create change

Did she mention lifeguard?

Yes, she trained at Fistral in Newquay and is taking it further with her campaign Go Far with CPR - which calls for the teaching of the resuscitation technique CPR to be compulsory in schools.

"It's a skill that you can do wherever you are in the world, but it is the difference between life and death," she said.

"Both of my grandfathers passed away before I was born due to heart attacks."

Back at Fistral, she is on a mission to spread the word all the way to the Miss World event next year.

"I feel like if I can use my voice and use this opportunity, not only to represent... represent our beautiful country, but also use my voice for positive change and for good, that is what my purpose is," she said.

"If I can be a representative to all those young girls who look at me and think that they can relate to that, then I've done my job," she said.