10 reasons to love the new Mrs. Universe, Ashley Burnham
"People think pageant girls are just tall, beautiful, and have nothing to say. I have a lot to say."
Ashley Burnham, a native of the great country of Canada, recently won the Mrs. Universe Pageant.
Mrs. Universe is a beauty pageant for married women. But now it's more than that. It's a beauty pageant for beautiful women who aren't afraid to speak their minds and make me want to do a cartwheel of joy.
Tomorrow night a new @mrsuniverse2015 will be crowned. I worked so hard to get to this day in hopes of becoming the next Mrs Universe. Whatever the outcome may be I know I've done my best and I will continue to do the charitable work I love to do. Stay tuned... 😊❤️🇨🇦👑
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
OK, so she's got the beauty part down. Wait for the rest ...
She is also the first aboriginal winner of Mrs. Universe.
Know this: Beauty queens, for all the stigma around pageants and all that, work hard. It ain't easy. Even after all that, Ashley Burnham — also known as Ashley Callingbull — is a cut above. Why?
Well, I've got 10 reasons she is SO much more than the average beauty queen.
1. She's a part of the Enoch Cree Nation of Alberta, Canada.
Powwow selfie
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
First Nation realness.
2. She's getting political, and she doesn't care if you don't like it.
As she told CBC news, "There's just so many problems with it for First Nations people. We're always put on the back burner. With the bills that have been passed, we are being treated like terrorists if we're fighting for our land and our water. It's our right to, and now we're being treated like terrorists if we do anything about it. ... It's ridiculous."
On her first day as Mrs. Universe, she basically urged all First Nations people to vote out the current Canadian prime minister.
BOOM!
3. She reps her heritage.
Excited to dance this weekend 🙋🏾 A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
4. She responded to critics on a Facebook post that got over 12,000 reposts and counting.
After tweeting about political issues affecting the First Nations and encouraging people to vote (shocking, I know), some folks on the Internet were calling her "too political."
Well ... she had something to say to them.
Look out is right!
5. She also said this: "We need to all come together and protest what we deserve as human beings. We can't be silenced by our governments."
Me either, RuPaul. Me either.
Feeling glamorous and ready for @mrsuniverse2015 👑
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
What's she thinking? Something awesome, I bet.
6. She won the pageant. That ain't easy, folks!
Hometown paper 💕 A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
And she celebrated by sharing a gram from her hometown paper. <3
7. She's a big supporter of No More Stolen Sisters, an organization that is trying to raise awareness about the BIG problem with violence against indigenous women.
She also started Who Is She, a campaign a campaign that fights the disproportional violence against indigenous women.
According to a report that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shared with The Guardian, indigenous women are 3 to 4 times more likely to be murdered than other women. Additionally, "while aboriginal women represent just 4.3% of Canada's female population, they represent 16% of female homicide victims and 11% of missing persons cases involving women."
This chart from a report done by the Canadian government on the topic of murdered and missing indigenous women backs it up.
And as the new Mrs. Universe, Ashley is *so* not here for that.
I'm going to keep speaking up for our stolen sisters ❤️ #mmiw #whoisshe
A video posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
8. As a vocal survivor of childhood abuse, she's serious about breaking the stigma and silence.
And she's vocal about finding healthy ways to heal.
GIFS via " Canada AM."
9. She's sorry she's not sorry. ;)
Sorry NOT sorry 🙌🏾
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
Ooooooh, snap!
10. Basically she's fierce af.
Official Mrs Universe Canada swimsuit shot. I'm all settled into Minsk, Belarus and my roommate is Mrs Belarus! 5 days till @mrsuniverse2015 finals! ❤️🇨🇦❤️
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
And she also does a fab Throwback Thursday #tbt moment.
Me and @xxvii.vii.mmii have been cruising together since we were babies. She's my passenger in life. ❤️
A photo posted by Ashley Burnham (Callingbull) (@ash_burnham) on
Calling all beauty queens: Get on her level.
Yes. She's got a pretty face, and beauty standards can be oppressive, but amen to what she's using it to say.
Her fierce beliefs, strong character and fearlessness in the face of people who would silence her make her a TRUE beauty to me. Reign on, my queen!
"I'm not your typical beauty queen. I have a voice for change and I'm going to use it!" — Ashley Burnham, Mrs. Universe 2015
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.