by Guest Author CDF of Whirled Peas
Beauty contests have been getting more attention than usual lately. Usually, these rather pathetic events are ignored, left as an enthusiasm for hopelessly insecure young women, who having found no other quality with which to make their mark on the world, hit upon the “Evil Queen from Snow White” formula of finding self worth. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most neurotic-obsessive of them all?
Health and beauty
Don’t forget, these young women essentially torture themselves. They subject themselves to diets which border on starvation; they irradiate themselves either with natural sunlight or worse, tanning beds. In many cases, they have plastic surgeons who make sure their breasts are at optimal perkiness, their cheekbones are sharp enough to use as a hole punch, and their lips are sufficiently loaded with collagen that they appear to have a permanent pucker in place. It is rather a pity in those instances that the surgeons and cosmeticians don’t go up with the pageant winner to accept the award: doesn’t the pit crew deserve an accolade too?
Politics and beauty
We have Miss California to thank for drawing our attention to this swamp of shallowness and trauma. If she had merely said that she was in favour of gay marriage, or if the blogger Perez Hilton had merely dismissed her as an airhead, we would likely have allowed the latest Miss USA contest to pass unnoticed. But thanks to the brouhahaha between these two we have been reminded of this contest’s presence, and the deep seam of psychological issues not just with the contestants, but lurking within the public that allows this competition to continue.
Only in America would the notion of a nearly-naked fundamentalist Christian beauty queen tossing her processed hair and parading brand new pageant-bought plastic breasts across a Las Vegas stage in front of millions of television viewers with all the modesty of a blue ribbon heifer at a county livestock fair (the same fundamentalist Christian beauty queen who would later tell a television reporter that she heard God whispering in her ear as she answered a celebrity-worshipping Internet gossip columnist’s question about gay marriage) be treated as anything other than an occasion for high comedy and mirth. — Michael Rowe
Fantasy made flesh
We live in an era where some must have every fantasy made flesh. Some want to live in a mansion; up until recently, it was possible even for individuals to buy one, even if they hadn’t sufficient means to pay back the mortgage. Some want to make a lot of money; again, until recently, it was possible to sign up with online stock brokers and try one’s hand at making paper profits. Some want to kill and hurt people; the more sane take up their time with graphic three-dimensional video games, the deeply troubled go on the rampage in schools. There is an urge, hidden but always screaming that demands we become wealthy, powerful, attractive, full of sexual magnetism, and never, ever be satisfied.
In this schema, the beauty contestants are victims of a need for fantasy to be made flesh. They desire attractiveness above all. But what supports that image of attractiveness is the willingness of the public to have them perform as their masturbatory props.
Masturbatory props
In order to explain this phenomena further, it’s worth remembering that all sexual activity has a fantasy element involved. The act is never the act in and of itself; if that were the case, it would become quite absurd in some respects, from the motions involved to the awkwardness of the creaking bedsprings. But it is not just that: there are fantastic qualities associated with it, connected to the imagination: e.g., I look into her eyes and see her soul. Or, this is such a naughty thing we’re doing. Or, this reminds me of this other time which was really good, in which case fantasy is piled on fantasy. We need this component, it is healthy: it is an abstract element which allows a space for thought in a world which if experienced solely through the nerve endings, would never allow thinking in the first place. However, at the same time this element can be warped, if our desires are exclusively trained on trying to turn fantasy into reality.
Sexuality and sensuality
We are constantly bombarded with stimuli which tells us to do precisely that. Men’s magazines, airbrushed, soft focus, or even digitally enhanced, try to portray an image of woman in a certain way: breasts have a certain set of parameters to which they must adhere, face, eyes, hair, all have to fall within a series of measurements. The ideal woman is young, sexually promiscuous, and yet vulnerable to advances of even the most homely man. But perhaps the fantasy space is disturbed by the impossibility of these qualities existing in a single combination, so it looks for substitutions: the young and vulnerable aspects make their appearance in the beauty pageants. The sexual element in this instance is more understated, but inherent. The women in this scenario are not women in and of themselves, they exist solely to fulfill an imaginative outlet, and reinforce the negative psychological feedback loop which suggests that fantasy is there to be realised.
Conscious living
Fantasy can be harmless, and as previously stated, necessary. However, there is a point where it becomes too much to remain unaddressed: that point is where it inflicts harm on the well-being of others. Considering the lives that are blighted by the necessities of this perverse phenomenon, that juncture has already been reached. To address this, the first step is to accept that this outlet is not “normal”. For those who say otherwise, it is considered “normal” in some societies that clitorectomies are performed, yet we in the West refuse to accept this. Normal is thus a relative value: therefore it is subject to revision, and when provable harm is entailed, morality demands it must be changed. Beauty contests should be exposed for the tragic mess that they are, not celebrated in any way; let it be ridiculed, damned, castigated, derided. Perhaps hope also lies in phenomena like Susan Boyle, which is challenging the underlying societal opinion about physical beauty being linked to talent or virtue: they are not. We need more of this in order to challenge and break our own assumptions. We also need more humility, whereby we realise that we are not all going to be pop stars, millionaires or Hollywood actors. We have value as individuals; trying to project that value against the ever variable grid of fame is neither worthy or worthwhile. Posterity should be taught to let it go.
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Sexualizing young girls
I feel that beauty pageants are far more than hopelessly outdated, easily ignored remnants of the old century. They are far more insidious. They are part of a culture where women are not valued as anything other than sexual creatures. Already, the United States is a place where you are either beautiful or smart. Girls actively hide their intelligence and achievements beginning as young as 9 years old. They act and dress provocatively because they are being sent messages that smart women are ignored and beautiful women are revered.
I understand the value of a well groomed and attractive exterior. I understand the importance of good health, but I resent being judged or deemed less attractive or beautiful than another woman because of my height, race, or weight. This is why I despise pageants. They allow men to judge women solely on their appearance and foster an environment where anyone who does not fit an impossible standard is deemed inferior.
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@Still
This is another element of “provable harm” – it is creating a standard which is impossible for women to live up to, without experiencing extreme pain and / or damage to health. It is time that we recalibrate our expectations to a more human scale, so that we stand a chance of treating each other like human beings.
As long as there is a market out there for a fresh slab of meat, you will have beauty pageants, model role calls, sexist advertising, strippers, porn, pimps and human slavery. I know that’s a pretty cynical view of humanity and the state of male – female relations, but unless you take away the lure and glamour of getting something for nothing – because beauty, after all, really is nothing beyond the surface – these things are not going away. Those who exploit women know this only too well.
BTW, forgive me if I’ve mentioned it before in this space but there is a blogger out there about to make a killing with the alpha male theory, exploiting the pervasive male fantasy that all a woman is worth is her beauty, that you have to beat the crap out her in order to make her stay attached to you, and that once you’re done with her, toss her aside. I think all feminists online should denounce “roissy in dc” but unfortunately, that will only increase his notoriety. Hunter S. Thompson said it best: when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Weird in roissy’s case being overtly sociopathic.
Great post, TT. Very well-written.
I didn’t write this post Ian. I will have the guest author reply to you.
Ian -
Wie geht’s im Deutschland?
At any rate, the internet is a venue for all manner of fantasy made virtual flesh; the fact that there is someone who is behaving so pathologically as to fulfil that particular fantasy does prove its pervasiveness. No one said, however, that it should be accepted as “normal” or anything other than inspiring revulsion.
Regards, GC
I agree with you and agree with Stillthinking as well, but, they say they judge a contestant with her “skin deep beauty” :) They do show they care for smartness…
All these things are inventions of “euphoria age” and don’t need that much attention. The cosmetics industry has the right to expand. They were successful in early 90s in bringing this “malaise” (as perceived by some) to India when there were successive Miss Universe and Miss World from India. Then, they are spreading it throughout the globe and this well planned annual event has done them good expansion.
There is nothing wrong as long as they enjoy it and if we say its bad for society, then we are caring too much. There is no harm in something as long as it is not directly or indirectly dangerous in real sense to anybody.
Harry -
I disagree. There is harm – by giving a body image that is unattainable except through self-torture as an ideal, we are condemning a generation of women. Never, ever think that an industry has your best interests at heart – their best interest is to get you to part with your cash for the least amount of trouble, and damn the consequences.
Regards, GC
GreenCurmudgeons last blog post..In Praise of Hyacinth Girls
I agree with the comment that there will always be beauty pageants–as long as there are beautiful women, there will be a market for this. I don’t believe we can change this; however, what I hope to see is even in the venue of ‘beauty pageants’ that more emphasis will be placed on substantive ‘inner’ qualities, as well as the ‘in your face’ physical ones.
It’s very tough for women–because the message around every corner is that physical appearance is such an important quality–this is drilled into our heads from the moment we understand that little girls are different from little boys. Even though women are often portrayed on television in high powered roles–yet it is never enough for the women to be strong and intelligent; they must be beautiful as well. Take Geena Davis, who played the Commander in Chief–she was beautiful first and foremost. And this is basically the same for every woman in a high powered role–she is also beautiful–and this is not true for men in such roles.
I have worked in an industry where I was judged 100% on my appearance (former exotic dancer and call girl) and it led me to believe that the only worth I had was physical. In fact, that really crippled me until only very recently. To tell you the truth, it has been great to get older–because I am judged more on the substance of my character these days than my physical appearance. It really has been a relief.
Melinda
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Melinda -
It’s difficult to imagine a situation in which your character wasn’t taken into account.
All the best, GC
I wish i could say the problem is only with the beauty pageants but unfortunately, obsession with looks is a societal issue. In my former place of work, i was always sent out for new accounts. I thought this was because of my experience and qualifications and professionalism till one of the directors disabused me of that notion. He said my looks bring in more new accounts than my brain. I wish i could disagree with that but seeing as it was always men the company sent me to and very few of the men ever waited to hear my sales pitch, he was right. Imagine how that made me feel. And that was in the corporate world!
There’s is no doubt I have had preferential treatment a lot of times simply because of the way i look and sometimes i find myself falling back on my looks to get my way. I always have to consciously remind myself that I am more than a body and I should not allow societal shallowness dictate how i live.
Starting with beauty pageants is a good thing but the rot goes far deeper than that.
I think there needs to be some clarification – beauty pageants are a symptom, not the disease itself. However, both the symptoms and the disease should be treated.
Best Regards, GC
I enjoyed this article very much. I do not watch beauty pageants and have no interest in them at all other than I see them as highly destructive and a product of a very ill culture. And what do they prove? Nothing for me. It is highly unlikely that the truly amazing women in the world, the women who change lives, move mountains, stop child abuse, stop the sex trade, save labor, feed the desperately starving…..will be found in beauty pageants. Not that have to be found there but still? What is the point. These kind of pageants are as empty to me as the articles you see titled: The World’s Sexiests Man (Woman), or The World’s Richest People. Rich is What? Money? Sexy in what way? Muscles, fake boobs, etc. For it is as meaningless as the dust that settles on my dining room table.
I see it a symptom of illness, a reflection of our culture, a sign of oppression and control of women the world over. I choose to put my focus else where on the people and women in the world who touch my life in a profound way (like TT or Shirley of ProofPositivity, or so many other women I know on and off line and woman I will never meet but admire for their efforts to bring positive change into the world.) I let the rest go.
Great article.
Thank you.
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Yes, you are 100% right. These beauty contests are more business-oriented where young girls quite unaware of the physical and emotional risks involved are jumping into the race. The modesty of the female is totally lost or ignored. It is for the responsible parents and teachers to advise the young minds on this.
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