Being your best authentic self is a standard Ms. Voluptuous Gulf Coast Melanie Robinson lives by. And she is passionate about encouraging others to do the same.

“I believe ‘if you can’t see her, you can’t be her,'” says Melanie, referencing her platform and support for when women and girls of all ages and sizes can see themselves equally represented in fashion and media to truly celebrate who they are right now.

The message is her motto; one Melanie hopes to spread far and wide as she takes her local title this year to international status.

As one of our very own; a Mississippi Gulf Coast resident, Melanie, of Ocean Springs, traveled this summer to Durham, North Carolina, reigning as Ms. Voluptuous Gulf Coast with tremendous confidence and inspiring hope in bringing home the crown and title of Ms. Voluptuous International, and she has successfully completed her mission. Originally from Michigan, Melanie is an award-winning performer, serving in various roles, including communications professor, theater instructor, and a proud Air Force spouse to her husband, Clark, for 14 years.

The Ms. Voluptuous Pageant competition took place August 4-9, 2024, during which Melanie and other contestants had the opportunity to experience becoming empowered as a spokesperson for their advocacies, set and achieve goals, master a healthy mindset, and hone leadership skills as a role model and mentor to others.

Melanie proclaims that her entrance into pageantry is what has helped her overcome body image issues and a fear of aging and hopes her passion and platform can help to also set others on their journey to self-healing.

“I competed at the Miss Voluptuous International Pageant last year, as well as this year, and both experiences brought me a lot of personal growth and satisfaction with how I presented myself. This pageant’s motto is, ‘Empower, Elevate, Celebrate,’ and the Miss Voluptuous team made sure we all had that experience. Pageant week isn’t just the rehearsals and preparation for the competition; there were social media workshops, self-care reflection, public speaking exercises, and a Lip Sync Battle for everyone to have fun. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and loved connecting with amazing women from around the world!”

When Melanie, competing as the eldest contestant at age 54, was crowned winner, she said she literally felt as if her soul had left her body when her name was announced. “However, said Melanie, “the best part for me was holding hands with my sister queen (and the new Ms. Voluptuous North America), Dr. Shauna McClain, because we told one another that no matter what happened the crown was in safe hands. I knew I would be happy for her, and she was happy for me. That is true sisterhood.”

Miss Voluptuous Pageants prides itself on selecting dedicated, passionate, and exceptional individuals to participate in the International Grand Final. Miss Voluptuous Pageants is a Global Empowerment and Leadership Program; through mindset workshops, public speaking and interview coaching, photographic posing, and modeling workshops, participants are equipped with real and transferable life skills to help them achieve their own personal successes. Instead of focusing on a physical aesthetic, the pageant champions the platforms, hard work, and volunteer efforts of the women involved to build their confidence from within. The sisterhood aspect of Miss Voluptuous is at the forefront of the pageant’s virtues, emphasizing platform and service to the communities of each finalist. 

Melanie has had to learn how to stop her fear of aging, fighting with body image, and work to be her best self.  “I think the main thing for me is that I had to learn how to look at my fears as ways to make friends with them. And to give you a little of the back story, my mother died tragically when she was 53, and she had been afraid of aging and her mother was afraid of aging, so I grew up with this message that to get older was a bad thing. And as I approached 50, I wanted to change that narrative for myself. And so, I decided to enter a pageant when we lived in California. And it was just, you know, a thing for me, completely just to step outside of my box a bit, and to my surprise, I won that local title. I saw that there was an opportunity for me to inspire other women because, unfortunately, a lot of women who are over 50 tend to feel like they are not seen; that they are not valued, because a lot of times the media advertises like we have to be fixed, and I don’t want that message for younger women – to feel like they have to be fixed.”

The director of the Miss Voluptuous pageant is very much about women being as authentic as they can be, which includes competing with purple hair, should you decide to have purple hair! And that is exactly what Melanie chose to do; sporting her beautiful purple hair with her representation as Ms. Voluptuous Gulf Coast, she was crowned as Ms. Voluptuous International, as she presented her authenticity and showed that you can bring out the best in yourselves in the most authentic way. Ms. Voluptuous pageant contestants are welcome to have tattoos, piercings, and colored hair. If you look at the website under royalty, you can see that the winners vary in their looks which is celebrated. “I think we are all hungry for authenticity, right? And the thing about the Miss Voluptuous pageant is that is what they are looking for in their queens. They do not want us to fit into a cookie-cutter box at all,” says Melanie. “This pageant just wants someone who will speak to the type of women who are honestly not profiled positively in social media.” 

Melanie said registration is now open for 2025 (www.missvoluptuouspageants.com), and that there are many ways that contestants can end up shining throughout the competition. There is a Miss and Ms. title, with the Miss title being for contestants 18-32 years, single or married, and the Ms. title being for contestants 32 years and up, single or married. For the title itself, contestants compete in categories including an interview that covers 40 percent of the score, personal introduction that is 10 percent, national or state costume that is 20 percent, and evening gown that is 20 percent. There are also optional awards so there are many ways that a queen can be recognized; for example, through her writing ability, talent, advocacy, service, visibility, and networking, just to name some.

The many different categories mean there are plenty of opportunities to be recognized if contestants don’t end up winning the big title. “Although the interview competition is considered to be the most nerve-wracking for most contestants, I was really looking forward to sharing my story, my passions, and my platform. One of the comments I received from last year’s interview feedback was to deepen my platform, so I decided I wanted to amplify women’s voices by hosting and creating my “Fearless and Fabulous” podcast. I was excited to share how my podcast is inspiring women to thrive, no matter their age or size,” said Melanie. 

Melanie also won Optional Awards, including Silver Award for Autumn Volunteer Service, Gold Award for Winter and Spring Volunteer Service, 1st Runner Up Talent, Screen Queen Winner (Best Spokesmodel), and International Icon Winner (Combination of Talent, Spokesmodel, and Essay.)

The heart of her platform as Ms. Voluptuous Gulf Coast is her podcast, also titled “Fearless and Fabulous,” which originally was a part of her blog she started in 2012. Earlier this year, in January, Melanie’s “Fearless and Fabulous” podcast launched with its mission to inspire women and girls to embrace their authenticity and thrive. “I wanted to really focus on how women have gone through challenges to come out thriving. So that is why I wanted to take it to a podcast. To date, I have had 20 guests of women from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe,” said Melanie.

Melanie’s journey has taken a lot of growth as she journals often, and she works with a coach because she realized that she needed to invest in herself. She realized that it is hard to grow as a person if she doesn’t surround herself with other people who are about excelling, growing, and trying to find positive ways to become a better person. “Part of my own healing journey was to get involved in pageantry, and I no longer fear getting older; I embrace getting older and seeing what my next chapter of life is going to be full of,” said Melanie. 

“In terms of my body image, I have a background as a performer, and when you are a performer, a lot of times, you are considered based on your body type. When I was a size 3, I was told by a casting director that I was too curvy and needed to lose more weight; so that triggered an eating disorder within myself, and I spent years fighting with food and feeling like I had to restrict everything in order to be ‘acceptable.’ When I was in a car accident in Germany while my husband and I were living there, my life totally changed. My mobility was different; I couldn’t dance the way I used to, and I gained weight. So as a means to cope with my body changing, that’s when my blog began, and it was just a means of me trying to find fashion that looked good for a curvier body. And so, from there, it just kind of grew into other areas about self-love, body image, and how women are perceived at certain ages and sizes. So really that car accident changed a lot of how I view myself and instilled a hope to inspire other women to not look at their bodies as something to fear or that food is an enemy. Food is your fuel, and your body is your temple and is something that should be celebrated.” 

Melanie is very passionate about volunteering for organizations and causes she cares about. Last year, she volunteered almost 400 hours and plans to exceed that for 2025. Since 2021, Melanie has been involved with the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce for which she has volunteered at various events. She helped with fundraisers for Gulf Coast Equality as well as for the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence. Melanie also volunteered at supply drives for Back Bay Mission, helped with a food drive for Freida’s Pantry in Pascagoula, and was awarded 2023 Volunteer of the Year when she worked at Keesler Air Force Base. Melanie was also recently recognized as one of Gulf Coast Woman Magazine’s “100 Most Successful Women to Know,” Class of 2024. 

When it comes to advising future pageant competitors, Melanie would say to not look at it as an age thing because it can put you in a certain mindset of thinking that you are not right for it. “When you think about it like you have a life experience that a lot of women don’t have, and they need to see positive role models for 40 and over; and they need to know that their lives are going to still keep getting better and growing, so when they see themselves reflected on stage that gives them hope. And that is one of my motto’s too, that “if you can’t see her, you can’t be her,” so when you see someone who is thriving over 40, or over 50, that inspires me and that makes me know that I can still achieve what I want to do.” 

Melanie continues to be grateful for the outpouring of support she has received.
“No one wins a title without a team,” Melanie said, “so I absolutely must give shout-outs to Dawn Gilmore of Dawn Gilmore VIP Photography for her generous support and gorgeous photos, Amanda of Poppy Rose Beauty for getting my skin camera-ready, Vicki of the Hue Hair Salon for my amazing hair color, Tammy of Coast Beach Tan for my beautiful glow, my coach Maria of The Pageant Gal for her terrific guidance and mentorship, and last but definitely not least-my family and friends, especially to my husband, Clark, for being an amazing supportive partner during this pageant journey.
“The Gulf Coast area really supported me on my journey.”

Her evening gown was sponsored by Amanda Ranger of Formally Yours in Ocean Springs, which is one of the few that carry beautiful, affordable gowns in sizes up to 5X. Other sponsors for Melanie as Ms. Voluptuous Gulf Coast included Foot Specialists of South Mississippi (Dr. Caplis and team); The Parlor on Lorraine; Ocean Springs Therapeutic Massage; and The Cornerstone in Biloxi. Melanie also thanks For All Bodies Fashion Show for their contribution as well. 

During her reign as Ms. Voluptuous International, Melanie’s main goal is to host a “Fearless and Fabulous” Retreat in 2025. The event will offer a place where women can gather and learn techniques in building confidence and letting go/facing fears to reach their goals. “I promise this will be a transformative event, so follow me on Instagram @melaniegrayrobinsonofficial and/or @msvoluptuousinternational to learn more.”

Melanie will also launch Season 2 of the “Fearless and Fabulous” podcast this October. She is always looking for more amazing women who would love to share their stories on her podcast of thriving after challenges, no matter their age or size. Season 1 is available for viewing on YouTube, @TheCurvyQueen.

Melanie will be pursuing modeling opportunities with a goal of walking in the 2025 New York Fashion Week, as representation of plus-size women over 50 is very important to her. “I believe if “you can’t see her, you can’t be her,” and when women and girls see themselves represented in fashion, hopefully, they will not have the body image challenges as I did when I was younger,” says Melanie. “Sharing my story about my eating disorder, fear of aging, and sexual assault, along with how I learned to heal, shines a light on these important issues which women face every day.” 

Melanie can be reached for booking or more information on social media platforms:
Facebook @melgrayrobinson,
Instagram @melaniegrayrobinsonofficial,
LinkedIn @melgrayrobinsonmfa,
YouTube @melaniegrayrobinson.
Melanie’s email is melgrayrobinson@gmail.com, and her website can be found at www.thecurvyqueenmel.com.

On the cover: Winners of this year’s Miss/Ms. Voluptuous pageant competitions are, from left to right, Ms. Voluptuous Asia Pacific Stephanie Schutt of New Zealand, Miss Voluptuous Europe Naomi Ravenstein of The Netherlands, Miss Voluptuous International Ashley Anna Schouw of The Netherlands, Ms. Voluptuous International Melanie Robinson of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Ms. Voluptuous Africa Bibina Tehjen-Okwen of Cameroon, and Ms. Voluptuous North America Dr. Shauna McLain of Buckeye State.

Ashley Prima

Author, Public Speaker, Multimedia Journalist, Publisher, Writing Consultant, Blogger, and Podcast Host.