Beauty Competitions

Beauty Competitions, also known as Beauty Contests or Beauty Pageants degrade women to mere objects. Such a competition is the exploitation of women by men and other women. A competition based on skill or ability is all right. However in the case of a beauty competition, no skill or ability is involved. Beauty is supposed to be the criteria for such a competition. There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess. We do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others. We recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone

However the question is: how can beauty be competed? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A woman considered to be beautiful by one person may not be so to another. Beauty is purely subjective. No two persons can agree on what beauty is.

Yet there are ‘beauty’ competitions. A group of men and women watch the parade of a group of half-naked girls and then pronounce one to be the most beautiful. These young mostly naïve girls, because they cannot show any skill or ability, have to flaunt their bodies in public. It is degrading to see these young girls with perpetual smiles pouting their lips and wiggling their bottoms just to gain some marks from some pretentious judges.

The winner gets to wear a crown and ‘reign’ for a year. The reign is actually cheap promotion for the company that sponsors her. However, in her ignorance, the beauty queen sees fit to replace her with some other more beautiful naïve creature.

Every woman is beautiful, if she can just be herself. The moment she flaunts herself, she becomes an object to be degraded and exploited by those who will cash in or her assets. This private beautiful woman then becomes public property for a year.

Women in beauty contests are judged on their physical appearance rather than on any other qualities they may possess.The existence of a ‘talent’ element in many such contests is all very well, but ugly women simply aren’t going to win. Judging women, but not men, primarily on their looks contributes to the subjugation of women because other qualities, such as intelligence, are not seen as part of ideal femininity and therefore not as things to which women should aspire.

The questions they're asked in their interview are a joke. The women prepare their answers ahead of time and few of them probably even know what they're talking about or feel that strongly about whatever they're talking about. They just say what they think will lead to a victory.

The image of female beauty promoted by beauty contests is culturally specific and western. Asian women have to take part in the swim suit category ,which may well not be considered appropriate dress in their culture, if they want to win.

Beauty contests fail to challenge harmful political attitudes to women. Despite paying lip-service to feminist keywords such as empowerment and self-confidence, they do nothing concrete to aid the liberation of women; indeed, by reinforcing looks as the most important feminine quality, they harm women’s liberation in general.

People enjoy beauty contests. Many women enjoy entering them. Many people enjoy watching them. Nobody is forced to do either. The beauty of a fit, healthy, well-proportioned human form is something from which we can all take pleasure, and beauty contests, along with other forms of art, are vehicles which enable us to do so

Beauty contests, like sport, can be an important focus of national or regional pride. They hold an important cultural place in many parts of the world. The victories seen as symbolic of a country’s progress in competing with more powerful countries on their own terms.
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|In a society in which women really are valued on the basis of their looks, and in which there really |
|are fewer opportunities for women than for men,beauty contests give women a chance to get noticed |
|and to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a route to success. Many Hollywood |
|actresses, former beauty queens who simply would not have had the opportunities they have had |
|without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are |
|able to publicise charities and causes they feel strongly about .They have a public platform they |
|could not otherwise have gained. |
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| Cities hold pageants in hopes of attracting visitors. It used to boost a country’s revenue. |
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|Today, beauty pageants are now referred to as scholarship pageants. One of the most prominent and |
|well-known pageant organisations, Miss America, is responsible for providing more than $45 |
|million is scholarship money, which is available to over 12,000 women that compete in the state, |
|local and national pageants. The award of scholarship money.Women aren't forced to do this if they |
|don't want to, but if they do, it's a great way to get a scholarship.Other scholarships are only to really |
|smart people, so now more "average" intelligence women have an opportunity |
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|For women who have few options for advancing their education, pageants can be a positive way to |
|further their careers and also a way to stand up for any issues they wish to bring to the forefront. |
|Pageants usually require contestants to have a platform, which is basically a critical issue, such |
|as cancer awareness or the benefits of mentoring, that she wishes to promote and inform others |
|about. Community service is also a major aspect of today’s pageants. Scholarships are awarded |
|specifically to those women who show an exemplary effort in volunteering. |
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|Pageants not only consist of women parading a stage in a swimsuit, they focus on in-depth |
|interviews with each contestant. The benefits of being able to think on your feet during an |
|interview extend past the pageant forum and into many real life situations. Almost everyone |
|must go through some sort of interview process to apply for a job. Those women who have |
|been through the extensive interviews conducted in many pageants just might have an |
|advantage over the average applicant for a position. |
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|There is also something to be said for the positive self-esteem that comes from being able to |
|walk on a stage in front of hundreds of people in a swimsuit and evening gown. If entering a |
|pageant can lead to a gain in confidence, then it’s a positive thing. |
|Beauty pageants are considered to be not important to some but important to others.They lead to |
|the high rates of anorexia, bulimia, and plastic surgery in today's society.The public thinks they're |
|worthless unless they look like celebrities, models, and women in pageants.They don't have pageants |
|like these for males (as far as I'm aware of). We live in a pretty sexist world in which one way to |
|easily succeed is beauty. Although beauty pageants have lots of negative attached to it, it also has its |
|positve side. If it was so negative then it should have been stopped years ago. The prize money is the |
|big attraction. |
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