Tara Teng
Teng wearing her Miss World Canada sash in 2013
Born (1988-08-16) August 16, 1988[1]
British Columbia, Canada
Alma materTrinity Western University
OccupationFormer pageant winner
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss BC World
Miss Canada
Miss World Canada
Years active2010–2012
Major
competition(s)		Miss World 2012
Websitetarateng.com

Tara Teng (born August 16, 1988)[1] is a Canadian former pageant winner. She was named Miss Canada in 2011 and Miss World Canada in 2012. During her title reigns she was an advocate for human rights and spoke about human trafficking.

Early life and education

Teng is the daughter of a Chinese Singaporean church pastor father and a European Canadian mother, and she was raised as a Christian.[2] She was homeschooled until the age of 15.[3] She received a Bachelor of Education from Trinity Western University (TWU).[4][5]

Teng spent four months studying at TWU's Laurentian Leadership Centre (LLC) in Ottawa, participating in the Laurentian Leadership Program.[6][7] While in Ottawa, she had a year-long internship with Joy Smith, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kildonan—St. Paul in Winnipeg, who had been working to implement laws to reduce the demand for prostitution in Canada and on improving awareness about human trafficking.[8]

Pageants

In 2010 Teng won the Miss BC World contest[9][10] and the pageant's online People's Choice Award.[11] In 2011, she was crowned Miss Canada.[12] She won the Miss World Canada pageant in 2012, and represented Canada at the 2012 Miss World pageant,[3] although she did not place as a finalist in the Beauty with a Purpose segment of the competition[13] or as a top 30 quarter-finalist.[14]

Activism

In Canada

Teng was inspired to begin working against human trafficking when, at age 16, she moved to suburban Vancouver and met a neighbour whose daughter had been lost to human trafficking when she was 14 and prostituted by the girl's then-boyfriend.[15]

In October 2010, Teng met with Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to discuss human trafficking.[16] In November 2011, Joy Smith and Bruce Stanton, Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, hosted a reception in Teng's honour, at which she gave a speech to Senators and MPs about human trafficking.[6]

Teng participated in "Buying Sex is Not a Sport", a campaign during the 2010 Winter Olympics.[11] After participating in Toronto's second annual Freedom Walk in March 2011, she organized the Freedom Week campaign in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia with Todd Hauptman.[4][12][17] That August, she participated in the Ignite the Road to Justice Mission Tour, beginning in Vancouver.[18][19] The tour continued across the country eastwards.[16]

Teng participated in an anti-human trafficking task force in her hometown of Langley, British Columbia, producing a report on measures the community could do to tackle it.[20] In April 2012, Teng and Hauptman presented Langley Township with an "action plan" and asked the township to accept the plan's first two stages, dealing with prevention and education.[21][22]

Teng partnered with World Vision International[23] to give speeches at events raising funds for International Justice Mission, which rescues children from brothels.[24][25]

In Asia

In June 2011,[26] Teng visited towns and slums in Cambodia and Thailand where families had sold their daughters to sexual slavery.[16][19][27] These included Patpong, Thailand where she partnered with Rahab Ministries Thailand to spend time with female human trafficking survivors.[28] In Chiang Mai, Thailand, Teng spoke to an audience of 40,000 people at the MTV Freedom Concert in support of MTV EXIT, a campaign to end human trafficking and exploitation.[8][29] The Cambodia trip was supported by the advocacy group Traffic Jam[8] and World Orphans.[29]

In February 2012, Teng was a keynote speaker at the Freedom and Honor Conference in Seoul.[27] Later in the year, she travelled to Sri Lanka. There, she visited World Vision's development programs in Thanamalvila Divisional Secretariat and Bogawantalawa to help fundraising efforts.[30]

Post-pageant life

Teng currently works as a life and style blogger and is the B.C. director of the Joy Smith Foundation, an organization which serves to combat human trafficking and help survivors.[15][31] She also works as a spiritual embodiment coach in Vancouver working within the 'Deconstructing Faith movement'.[32] Her book, Your Body is a Revolution: Healing Our Relationships with Our Bodies, Each Other and the Earth will be published in 2023.

Honours

In 2011, Chatelaine named her one of Canada's "Hot 20 Under 30" women.[33] In 2012 she was one of 30 Langley residents to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.[23] That same year the Joy Smith Foundation recognised her work in human rights by giving her its International Freedom Award,[24] and she was added to the Catalyst Conference's Young Influencers List.[34]

Personal life

Teng married husband Chris Yamauchi in May 2013.[35] They had two children together.[31][36] In November 2019, she announced that her marriage had ended and she had been living as a single mother for a full year.[37]

Since her divorce, Teng has come out as bisexual.[38] She left mainstream Christianity due to the scrutiny she faced as an Asian bisexual woman.[32]

In November 2021, she announced that she and her fiancé Anthony Lively are expecting a child in 2022.[39]

References

  1. 1 2 Young, Michele (August 16, 2011). "Miss Canada stops by to talk about serious cause". Kamloops Daily News. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. ↑ Lee, Shara (September 7, 2011). "Q&A with Tara Teng (Miss Canada)". Converge Media. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Chua, Charlene (September 1, 2012). "Short in stature, but not on performance". The New Paper. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Sutherland, Hannah (February 24, 2011). "Miss Canada speaks in South Surrey". Peace Arch News. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  5. ↑ Yuen, Jenny (August 13, 2011). "Former prostitute calls for trafficking strategy". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Tara Teng addresses Members of Parliament and Senators". Trinity Western University. February 20, 2012. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Student Profile: Tara Teng" (PDF). Mansion Musings. October 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Miss Canada 2011 Takes the Fight for Justice Across Canada". The Gospel Herald: Ministries. August 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Fort Langley activist crowned". Vancouver Sun. Canada.Com. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ "BC's Tara Teng is Miss Canada". The Filipino Post. January 2, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Tara missed". Canadian Christianity. July 8, 2010. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Anderson, Brenda (March 3, 2011). "Crying freedom". BC Local News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ Sinha, Sanskrity (August 18, 2012). "Miss World 2012: Top 10 Beauty with a Purpose Contestants". International Business Times UK. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ Sinha, Sanskrity (August 18, 2012). "Miss World 2012: Top Seven Finalist Contestants and Winner of Miss World Beach Beauty". International Business Times UK. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Campbell, Haley (October 24, 2016). "5 ways mothers are transforming the world—from inside their homes". Motherly. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 Yuen, Jenny (August 13, 2011). "Former prostitute calls for trafficking strategy". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Free-Them fundraiser". InsideHalton.com. August 10, 2011. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Kay, Barbara (August 3, 2011). "Barbara Kay: Prostitution is an affliction, not a profession". National Post. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Gathercole, Miranda (August 10, 2011). "Cause going across Canada". Today In BC. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ Gathercole, Miranda (May 9, 2012). "Innocence for sale". Today In BC. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  21. ↑ Claxton, Matthew (April 26, 2012). "Young duo fighting against exploitation". Langley Advance. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ Gathercole, Miranda (January 30, 2012). "Tara Teng continues to shine a light on human trafficking". Langley Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Landerville, Troy (November 27, 2012). "Jubilee Medals: Langley's diamonds". Langley Advance. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  24. 1 2 Teng, Tara (November 14, 2012). "What Is Real Beauty?" (Interview). Interviewed by Moira Brown.
  25. ↑ "Langley's Tara Teng named Miss Canada". The Langley Times. January 31, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ Mainse, Ann. Tara Teng (Television production). 100 Huntley Street. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  27. 1 2 Goldby, Dylan; Sanchez, Daniel; Lamers, Matthew (March 20, 2012). "'Girls Are Not For Sale'". Groove Korea. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  28. ↑ Teng, Tara (February 5, 2012). "Converge talks with Tara Teng" (Interview). Interviewed by Ip, Stephanie; Ketchum, Craig.
  29. 1 2 Colpitts, Heather (June 16, 2011). "Voyage for justice". Langley Advance. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  30. ↑ Majeeb, Abdul. "Miss World Canada 2012, Tara Teng to visit Sri Lanka". ELanka News. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  31. 1 2 Wadhwani, Ashley (June 21, 2017). "Miss BC competition a 'catalyst' for confidence, advocacy". Invermere Valley Echo. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  32. 1 2 Duncan, Tracey Anne (July 23, 2022). "Spirituality Has A New Face — And It's Queer As Hell". HuffPost. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Hot 20 Under 30". Chatelaine. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  34. ↑ Lomenick, Brad (March 13, 2012). "Young Influencers List, March Edition". Brad Lomenick. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Clearly Canadian". CNBC Horizon. February 2014. p. 23. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  36. ↑ "About Tara Teng". Tara Teng | Embodiment as a Spiritual Practice. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  37. ↑ Tara Teng [@misstarateng] (November 7, 2019). "...I'm just going to come out right and say it: my marriage has come to an end. It's been a year now that I've been a single mom, co-parenting with my children's father..." – via Instagram.
  38. ↑ Tara Teng [@misstarateng] (May 18, 2021). "As a bisexual, Jesus-following woman..." – via Instagram.
  39. ↑ Tara Teng [@misstarateng] (November 2, 2021). "My love and I are so excited to welcome a new soul into our family (April 2022)!" – via Instagram.
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