Martinsville Native Nijeria Jones Crowned Miss Voluptuous America 2025/2026
- BTW21
- 50 minutes ago
- 2 min read
MARTINSVILLE, VA — Nijeria Jones, a Martinsville native, has been crowned Miss Voluptuous America 2025/2026 at the Miss Voluptuous International Grand Finale held in Yorkshire, England.
Representing North and South America, Jones stood out for her intellect, authenticity, and purpose-driven leadership, ultimately earning the second highest overall score in the international competition and being named 1st Runner-Up to Miss Voluptuous International.
In addition to the national crown, Jones received multiple distinctions, including:
Queen of Connections
Written Essay Award
Best in Interview
1st Runner-Up – Casual Wear Runway Model
1st Runner-Up to Miss Voluptuous International (Second Highest Overall Score)
Beyond the pageant stage, Nijeria Jones is a licensed therapist, certified sexologist, energy healer, entrepreneur, and doctoral scholar at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Her academic and advocacy platform, Unapologetically Desirable, centers the lives and experiences of fat Black women in the U.S. South, challenging limiting cultural narratives about beauty, worth, and desirability.
Her upcoming dissertation introduces the DESIRE+ Framework, a conceptual model she developed to explore the multidimensional experiences of Black Southern women across seven interwoven themes: desirability, embodiment, self-worth, intersectionality, relationships, empowerment, and sexuality.
This groundbreaking framework seeks to document and celebrate how fat Black women navigate identity, community, and liberation in a world that often marginalizes them.
Building upon this work, Jones is also founding The DESIRE+ Collective, a forthcoming nonprofit organization dedicated to body justice, healing spaces, leadership development, advocacy, and community-based research for Black women—particularly plus-size Black women across the American South.
“This crown is not the destination—it is the microphone,” Jones said. “Fat Black Southern women deserve research, funding, compassion, and reverence. We are no longer waiting to be chosen. We are choosing ourselves. In every curve, every word, and every truth, we are already enough.”
As Miss Voluptuous America 2025/2026, Jones will continue her community engagement and advocacy while preparing to return to the international stage next year, this time representing the United States once again.
Jones is currently available for live or pre-recorded interviews to discuss her win, her ongoing community work, and her upcoming projects.