I can’t throw a football, but I don’t begrudge Peyton Manning his Super Bowl rings. I don’t possess the athleticism of an Olympic runner, the gift of gab of a talk show host or the brainpower of a NASA engineer either, so I DON’T APPLY FOR THOSE JOBS! I also don’t diminish the talent, challenges and desire that goes into obtaining any of them.
So, I ask, what’s wrong with young women who are attractive, physically fit and well-spoken applying for a job that essentially represents a brand – Miss Universe, Miss America, Miss Bikini US, Miss Earth, whatever — and will be a stepping stone to other career options in her field of choice? They are chosen to be representatives of their states and ambassadors for their countries. Models wearing little to nothing in provocative poses, are generally not required to speak, but they make millions! Actresses are often asked to show considerably more skin and appear in morally compromising scenes, speaking words they didn’t write, but are never disparaged for their decisions like the girls who participate in pageants.
Confession: I only watch the red-carpet portion of the Oscars. I love the parade of gorgeous evening gowns and sparkly jewelry. I’m not at all interested in the next three hours of endless thank yous and soapboxing on various social and political opinions. But, maybe that’s just me, so I don’t watch. My prerogative.
Miss America’s decision to eliminate swimsuits and modify evening gowns to promote an atmosphere which is designed to be “open, inclusive, and transparent” is bewildering at best. First of all, what does that even mean?! Fantastic! Anyone can enter! And now, what has been a tradition of healthy competition since 1921 is being reduced to a mind-numbingly boring, televised job interview with 45 too many candidates. As an aside, I have participated in my share of job interviews and at no point does the prospective boss ask you to share a piece prepared on your trombone or twirl around the office with a flaming baton!
What bothers me the most, however, is that once again, one or two people with a personal ax to grind are ruining a wonderful opportunity for thousands of others and discrediting the accomplishments of the many who have gone before. This is not about social outrage or the #MeToo movement – if it is, then what can be inferred is that girls in bikinis ARE silly and frivolous and they DO ask for it. Let’s just remember that the perpetrators of these assaults, stereotypes, wandering hands and eyes are to blame, not the girls who find themselves involuntarily on the receiving end.
Beauty pageants are simply competitions between beautiful, confident, determined young women who CHOOSE to participate. Their sport is physical fitness, their presentation is a sense of fashion and their ability to “get the job” is based on awareness of the world and the ability to deliver a quick, succinct answer on any number of relevant topics – just like in any other job interview situation.
Girls who have competed in pageantry have gone on to run corporations, start charities, hold political office, create products, become doctors, foreign correspondents, race car drivers, mothers, magazine editors and even Bond Girls. It is a launching point, a confidence-builder and should be a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Pageants have evolved, our perceptions of the women who participate in them should as well.
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