I’ve been reading all the reviews of this question with great interest. I have strong opinions about the impossible role models out there for our children and teens. Fashion models have gone from the size 5-7 range of my youth(which is still smaller than the average healthy woman) to the 0-2’s of today. While I add my resounding’NO-beauty contests do not bring out the beauty of a person’, I’d like to offer my own’two cents’ about why they continue to thrive.
I agree with Surinder that society as a whole values physical beauty for both women and men. Although I think the pressure is greater for women. Grey hair in a man is distinguished-on women old. We also tend to place a high value on sports ability in men. The nerd never gets the cheerleader and the plain girl never gets the football player. We’ve come to accept this as the way it is.
There aren’t beauty pageants for men. True-but there are Mr. Universe pageants with men building up their muscles to an unnatural size and shape-often in unhealthful ways. Is this really any different?
Some say men are responsible for the beauty contests. I’m not sure I agree. They are, in the respect, that historically, men have been at the heads of most corporations. This is a money business. If pageants didn’t make money-they wouldn’t exist. So, the heads of corporations will obviously continue to support a system that the public will buy. And there lies the responsibility-with the public.
Who buys the beauty products? Who are they trying to please? Who enters their 3 year old daughters in pageants dressing them as mini-adults with make up and big hair? We women need to recognize our own role here.
As long as we value human beings for beauty and physical prowess instead of for creativity, intelligence and humanity, this will be our world. Our little girls will grow up trying to be beautiful and believing they are incapable of learning science and math and our boys will be valued for athleticism and’stoicism’ instead of intelligence and empathy. And we all will be a little less.