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Redefining Beauty: Turning Pageants Upside Crown

I've been waiting for over three hours. I'm only slightly anxious, as my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer here in Guyana has accustomed me to the attitude of the locals, whose expression "just now" means anywhere from five minutes to five months. Reggae music blares in the background; a few young men get up to dance to pass time before the contestants walk on stage. Suddenly the music switches to soca, a Caribbean favorite. A size 24 Afro-Guyanese model emerges from behind the curtain in a tight, sequined dress to a hooting and hollering crowd. Her confidence radiates, and I sit up in my chair, vowing to hold myself as proudly as she does.


Courtesy Flickr user ceanandjen This is Miss Big and Beautiful, a beauty pageant dedicated to honoring big boned women. In Guyanese culture, to be "thick" is a good thing. The contest echoes this cultural notion, and emphasizes confidence and high self-esteem as sexy traits. And Guyana isn't the only place paying tribute to their its fleshy women; countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, St. Kitts and the UK all host the same contest. But critics of the pageant say it encourages obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle that leads to heart disease. Future contestants may be required to hit the gym afterwards, which to me seems contradictory.

In Africa, the country of Angola is taking the beauty pageant concept to a whole new level. Angola endures remnants of a 25 year civil war, including 15 million landmines that still pepper the countryside. Up to 80,000 people in total are said to be injured by the explosive devices. Miss Landmine—a beauty contest started by Norwegian artist Morten Traavik—aims to counter the marginalization of those affected. Women with prosthetic legs, missing limbs and scarred skin don bathing suits and gowns gracefully, despite their physical imperfections. Besides being a symbol of female and disabled empowerment, Miss Landmine ultimately aims to raise awareness, and sees itself as the beginning of a national network of survivors. Furthermore, the goal is to spread the project to other war-torn countries such as Cambodia, which will be hosting its own version of the contest this year. However, critics say that besides being colonialist and anti-feminist Miss Landmine is an unethical exploitation of the disabled and as shallow as the other contests it tries not to emulate, and therefore should be discontinued.

Beauty pageants have always met with conflicting public opinions. What do you think?

Posted by Celeste.