True queens

BEAUTY pageants are one of the most popular forms of entertainment around the world. It is prominently seen in the Philippines where every event, big or small, has a pageant of some sort. They can range from Little Miss, Miss Teen, Miss *insert name of sponsor company*, Miss Gay and even Mister competitions.

University of the Philippines-Diliman Arts and Letters’ Professor Jose Wendell Capili said our obsession with pageants dates back to around World War II. Carnival Queens were used to promote Philippine products all over the regions. What started as a side event eventually became the main center of attention. It became even more popular when Filipinos would win in international competitions like Miss World and Miss Universe.

Pageants are a source of livelihood and a stepping-stone for young women to proceed into relevant careers. They also use it to gain popularity to work for advocacies.

However, I can’t help but feel that pageants have a slightly negative effect on feminism and body image. Our candidates claim they are for women empowerment, but when you look at the main goal of pageants, it is to objectify women’s bodies.

Sure, the Q&A portion can make or break you, but most of the competition revolves around how pretty you are, how nice you walk, how extravagant your gown is, how good you look in a swimsuit, and how talented you are.

Even our dear Ms. Universe PH Rabiya Mateo was bullied due to her “make-up team” or lack thereof.

I am not fully against pageants. I, too, feel proud when our candidate slays it on stage. I just wish the image of our “queens” would be more realistic. I wish they would look like everyday women – women who are short, chubby, flat, have tattoos or piercings or colored, dry hair; women who wouldn’t exactly turn heads but who have the guts of a queen.

I’m happy about Ms. Cavite Billie Hakenson, a member of the LGBT community, for having participated in the Miss Universe PH pageant. At least, little by little, we are making our queens more real.

Hopefully the day will come when the girl who doesn’t have supermodel good looks will still feel proud of herself because the queens she sees on the stage look just like her./PN