Beauty, what's your take on it?

THW Ban Beauty pageants

Well, this was the motion during debate today and it got me on my feet- thinking about it after listening to both sides. I had a lot to say but couldn't as I was a reserve hence I'm going to let it out all here. Though my side won , I still have a load to say.

And yes, this is another societal rant; if you don't like it, see that pretty red 'X' at the top left of the screen? Click it and get the hell out of here.

Definition: Beauty pageants are competitions that judge women solely on their physical appearance.

Now onto what I have to say, side opposition ,today, mentioned that beauty pageants gives confidence to women and side proposition said that they want to eradicate the idea of using physical beauty as a judgment standard as beauty pageants give a false impression to society as the contestants hide behind thick layers of make-up, cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery.

I've my own personal take on these 2 matters. Firstly on side proposition, seeing size 0, or maybe size 00 women on stage , strutting around in skimpy little swimsuits . Let's take this in 2-tiers. One, there is irrefutably no doubt in the confidence in those women strutting around in those tiny little triangular pieces that covers only small areas of skin; if they lack confidence, do you actually think they would strut around in ,that in front of thousands of viewers and erts all over the world when it is broadcasted everywhere? On the second-tier, let's take a look at the perspective of the viewers. We have little children, insecure adolescents and young women watching this pageant; what message do you think it would send across to them? That size 0 is a societal norm and being healthy is not? Is it not accepted? This would hence make these people insecure and they would start losing weight in hope of finding acceptance in this society; this would therefore lead to anorexia verbosa and bulimia- a mental illness with its causes ascribed to societal standards. How many more deaths do you want to see because of these so-called social standards? Was Karen Carpenter's death not an example of these so-called social standards?

Now onto my second point, on side proposition, you can't completely eradicate that idea of not judging a person by their physical appearance. Yes, you've heard of the saying "never judge a book by its cover" but human nature is "designed" to make onejudge other. Personally I've this experience; I stand at a height of 167cm and I'm a dancer- a hard-core one. When I was on my way to the dance studio,I got approached by a modeling scout and he asked me to join them. I refused polietly and walked away but he chased after me, after a while I asked him why he kept chasing me despite my rejection. He said ," It's because you're pretty, you'll have the looks , the height and the face. The public would like you." I was just shock, not because he ~~complemented~~ called upon me for my physical appearance but shock because he could say such things. This therefore hints that society takes things on a very superficial level-shallowness. Not a convincing example, okay I'll give you another one. Take 2 woman, of the same age, of the same qualification and of the same degree; it's just that woman A is prettier than woman B- woman B is what society deems as plain- short hair, acne scared face and a short stature. Who would the boss choose? Obviously the prettier one-woman A as she is pleasing to the eye and would catch the eye of more people in an instant hence bringing more profit to the company. Why are those in the sales line constantly putting on heavy make-up? To hide their physical flaws and to attract customers. Society is judgmentall- their definition of beauty is high and almost impeccable. Woman therefore resort to plastic surgery to meet these social standards but are bashed for doing so as the public finds them fake.

Paradox isn't it?

I was brought up with values telling me that external beauty would never equal to internal beauty. Internal beauty lasts forever but external beauty fades over time. However, society currently preaches the opposite. Everyone is judged with those scrutinizing eyes and are labeled even before their stories are revealed.