Have you ever watched beauty pageant contests? Or when did you stop watching them?
When I was younger, I used to watch them. My friends and I would judge the contestants and we would guess who would win the crown.
When I think about the beauty contests now, I have to admit I would not watch them again. At least not in the format they are made. By the way, the format has not changed much. There is always a huge media attention, an instant fame, money, golden ticket to modelling career etc. It is all about beautiful girls, their perfect bodies and bikinis. Girls are competing against each other, who is more beautiful, who have better body measurements, better skills etc. Obviously, we all know what the winning numbers are: 90 60 90. Audience would cheer out loud, every time a TV presenter would announce these magic numbers that stand for 90cm around bust, 60cm around waist and 90cm around the hips.
Wait. Hold on. Are these really ideal body measurements? And who is in charge to tell a woman what her body should look like? If you ever find out, please DM me.
Last year, Miss Peru beauty contestants took these measurements to another level. And I am over the moon. Instead of 90-60-90, they introduced statistics about violence against women in South America: “My name is Camila Canicoba and I represent the department of Lima. My measurements are: 2,202 cases of femicide reported in the last nine years in my country…”
It is hard to tell what impact these girls made with these “measurements”. Surely, they raised the awareness about the issues in South America, but there is still long way to go. However, I believe in the future we will be hearing more about activism and less about body measurements. Of course, if there is any future for these contests in the shadow of #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.
Celebrating beauty is one thing, but celebrating someone who has won a beauty crown in beauty contest is another. “Congratulations Miss World! You are the most beautiful Miss in the world!” Nah thanks. Pathetic. Sorry, I do not mean to sound mean. I respect all these girls, who compete and take part in such contests. However, I do hope they will be more about women’s empowerment and less about physical beauty that leads to sexual objectification.
My suggestions for future beauty contests are:
“The most beautiful mum in the world.” In this contest everyone is a winner, because for all the children their mums are the most beautiful. A win-win situation. No body measurements taken, cellulite would not be a problem and stretch marks would be celebrated as symbols of motherhood. No fancy prices, just pure love reward. This is only one of many examples of future ‘beauty pageant contests’. But because today we are celebrating International Women’s Day, I chose to celebrate mothers, mothers to be, want to be mothers and of course all women around the world. Cheers to you all! You are beautiful!
Nikola Do Anh 