24 April, 2009 | Leave a Comment
There’s an outcry over the extreme thinness of this contestant from Australia’s Miss Universe contest:
Her picture and articles about her have been widespread in the press, where medical experts and others claim they are shocked and aghast at her appearance. She’s gross! She needs medical intervention! She has an eating disorder! She sets such a bad example for young girls!
See: Guardian, Herald Sun, Sky News, Independent, Access Hollywood, Daily Mail, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, Telegraph, Washington Post, NZ TV, Adelaide Now, Perth Now and too many more. Here’s my favorite graphic, from the Reuters blog:
According to Reuters, this skull is “the look she was going for.”
My question is, what’s the point of this story? To humiliate someone with an eating disorder? To gleefully show that whatever you look like as a woman, it’s never good enough? If you’re fat, they’ll laugh at you. If you’re too thin, they’ll laugh at you. You can’t win. In the aftermath of the Susan Boyle controversy, that much is clear.
This woman in the photo is not the problem. She is a symptom of a much larger problem created by society. If we’re going to engage in finger pointing, let’s leave this woman out of it. Let’s go right to the top of the Miss Universe pageant, its organizers, every country that participates in this pageant, all of their sponsors, the people who watch this and the media that cover this non-event. After all, what is a beauty pageant anyway? It’s where women parade around like pieces of meat in bikinis. The vast majority of these contestants have eating disorders, it’s just that the woman in the photo was more successful at it than the rest. In my view, she should be crowned the winner. It would be an an honest symbol of what these pageants represent.
From the Daily Mail: “Carmel Tebutt, the acting premier of New South Wales, said that allowing her to enter the contest when she looked so disturbingly thin sent the wrong message to young women who looked up to glamorous models.” Perhaps Carmel Tebutt should be focusing on why so many Australian girls look up to “glamorous models,” since that is something to be truly worried about. But no, it’s easier for everyone to pile on and try to disgrace this one individual, when she’s not the problem. She’s the logical outcome of the thin-obsessed, lookist society we live in.
This week also saw the Miss USA pageant. What shocked me about this photo is the way the contestants almost all look exactly the same:
No, nothing to be worried about here, unlike that Australian skeleton. These women, with their “natural” beauty, reflect the women of the USA.
And let’s not forget the controversy surrounding this pageant, when Miss California was quizzed by pageant judge Perez Hilton about her views on gay marrriage. Yeah, Perez Hilton, let’s ask someone whose sole achievement in life is looking good in a bikini what she thinks about a political issue and expect a liberal response. And then when she says she doesn’t believe in gay marriage you can pretend you have the moral high-ground when in fact you have no such thing, given your participation in an event that degrades women in such a way. And then you can later call Miss California a “dumb bitch” because she’s homophobic. You’re a sexist pig, but I guess that’s okay.
Anglofille said @ 2:54 pm | feminism | 6 Comments
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Ken Says:
April 24th, 2009 at 6:07 pmAnglofille: Once again you throw out a lot to think about. But a lot of this overwrought.
First, the Australian lady. Yeah, she’s repulsive. I find myself asking what man wants to fuck (and let’s face it–that’s what they’re selling) to woman who looka two months past Aushcwitz?
You’re being unfair to Miss California. I don’t see why either you or I should NOT listen to her just becasue she looks good in a bikini. I have no idea what you look like, Anglofille, but I would not reject your argument because you chose to deliver it a bikini. (Persoanlly, I like one piece suits) Her matchup against Perez Hilton was brutally unfair. She is not a “dumb bitch”. Her heart was plainly in the right place even if she couldn’t quite get her thinking there. I don’t like seeing ordinary people, unschooled in pr bullshit (unlike me, and I suspect you) made sport of like this this. I don’t think that kid is homophobic. I think all I heard her say was that wanted to marry a man.
Apropos of nothing. For once I can speak to you from the same place. When I was 34 I was desperate;y trying to make my mark upon the world. I tried everything. Nothing worked. I felt very discouraged and, yes, unmotivated…. And then, on St. Patirck’s Day 1988 I met the Big Bully, and my life chganged forever.
Just keep pluging Anglofille. Wait till you come home in June and see what a disturbancing place our country has become.
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Jan Says:
April 24th, 2009 at 8:42 pmI am struck by something else here, but it will not be about body image, sorry. Although I (rather) support gay marriage, I find it disturbing that those who preach tolerance and demand it are often the ones who intolerantly deny others the right to their (however bigoted) opinion. Have never heard of Mr Hilton, but he sucks. He asked for an opinion, he got one. The sad truth is, Miss USA apparently, is not allowed to have one, she is there to smile, look fabulous, make everyone happy and feel good about themselves.
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First, the Australian lady. Yeah, she’s repulsive. I find myself asking what man wants to fuck (and let’s face it–that’s what they’re selling) to woman who looka two months past Aushcwitz?
sigh. well, thank you for proving my (overwrought) points about the nature of beauty pageants: women as pieces of meat to be judged by men on their f–kability.
as for the miss california controversy, my main concern here is the hypocrisy and sexism of perez hilton. beyond that, beauty pageants are so repugnant to me that i don’t even care to debate whether it’s fair to ask contestants such questions, whether they’re entitled to their opinion, etc. the whole thing is too absurd to even contemplate.
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Ken Says:
April 24th, 2009 at 10:50 pmJan: This was all about self promotion by Perez Hilton. Hilton is an extremely low rent version of Walter Winchell. I’m sure you’ve never heard of him. Look him up.He was published in 2,000 papers in his prime. He had a big radio show on Sunday night. “Good evening Mr. And Mrs. North and South America and all ships at sea. Let’s go to press!” Just to show, nobody’s all bad, he was unique in the world of American big time radio in the 1930s for being vehemently anti-Nazi. Back in 1957 Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis did a scathing version of his life called “The Sweet Smell of Success.” It’s a great picture, Jan.
But Miss California was not attacked by the odious Perez Hilton for having an opinion. Rather, she was attacked for the very American sin of having an artlessly presented one. I could have gotten Miss Cal, if she were attentive, ready to roll in three hours tops.
Right now Jan, in the States, there are commericals being run by ridiculous joker anti gay groups, telling me how gays want to “affect” their marriages. They never explain how the possibiity of boys marrying boys and girls marrying girls will affect my marriage to the very hot tempered Italian lady to whom I’ve been hitched since 1991. The day they explain that to me, really, I’ll maybe listen.
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Ken Says:
April 25th, 2009 at 2:22 amAnglofille: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, whatever the forum, whatever they’re wearing.
I so agree that beauty pageants are riiuculous. When I was twelve (that would be 1966) I remember watching Miss America from Atlantic City, bored out of my horny little mind. Iwas amazed my family found this incredibly dull show interesting. When were these girls going to do something interesting? They never did.
That said, Anglofille, you are never going to change the fact that women willingly put themselves on display.
The last time I bought a copy of Playboy was not for me. I bought it for the two ladies I worked with. This was the summer of 1989. The Big Bully’s son was dating an up and coming actress. She had a spread in Playboy. They hated the girlfriend Me, I could take her leave her. They wanted to see the girlfriend naked, but they both such pussies they begged me to buy it for them. So I asked it what is worth to them, and W promised me a big kiss if I did it. I bought them the magazine. I got the kiss. It was a great kiss.A week later, after intense study, they gave it back to me. Frankly, my girlfriend was much sexier.
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Ken Says:
April 25th, 2009 at 4:26 pmI have to amend my statement. That issue was published in 1990.
