Miss USA Pageant?

[Foofoogal]

A place where the ladies can talk about fashion, fads, and handsome fellas. No peeking Guys
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I want to chat about the Miss USA pageant.
In case you don't know it has gone porno or close to it.
As a young girl I would fight you to sit in front of the TV to see this pageant. It stood for all that was good about America to me.
I have actually always a bit admired Donald for his ability to bounce back mainly.
I wonder if the economy is that bad that the pageant thinks it has to go this route.
Anyone else?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_USA
The Miss USA pageant was conceived in 1950 when Yolande Betbeze, winner of the rival Miss America pageant refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/miss-america-history.aspx#

Miss America represents the highest ideals. She is a real combination of beauty, grace, and intelligence, artistic and refined. She is a type which the American Girl might well emulate."

Those words were spoken by Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce President Frederick Hickman more than 75 years ago, and they still ring true today. Miss America is a role model to young and old alike, and a spokesperson, using her title to educate millions of Americans on an issue of importance to herself and society at large. :eusa_clap

 

[Foofoogal]

I have been asked privately if the guys can comment on this. Up to the moderator. Well?

They did have a humorous observation on it all.

 

[Foofoogal]

Interesting..

 

[Lady Day]

In case you don't know it has gone porno or close to it.
As a young girl I would fight you to sit in front of the TV to see this pageant. It stood for all that was good about America to me.
I wonder if the economy is that bad that the pageant thinks it has to go this route.
Anyone else?

The Miss USA pageant was conceived in 1950 when Yolande Betbeze, winner of the rival Miss America pageant refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit.

You dont want to chat about the Miss USA pageant, you want to comment on how its not not as reserved as you remember it being. The 'porno' reference is quite tackless, Foofoo. Isnt this what your blog is for?

LD

 

[Foofoogal]

Considering this is the Powder room and as I put in the first post very relevant to this room I would think we as women should discuss this.
Women and their roles are very important. Why would I want to put this on my blog? I am not doing a pageant history blog. It is a current event and/or fad as this is where it should be discussed. On the Powder room.
I don't think it is tackless one bit. The tackless should be of the pageant.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010.../main6471741.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentAux
I will post the guys comment as I thought it is right on.

 

[Foofoogal]

You should defnitely let the guys in on this discussion!
My personal feeling about all these pageants is that they're just reincarnations of primitive human sacrifice rituals. Like the Maid of the Mist. They take the loveliest young maiden in the village and make her the "bride" of the local pagan god. Then they send her over the falls in a canoe, or toss her into the volcano, or just chop off her head.

Very interesting insight.

 

[lolly_loisides]

I'm surprised you agree with the fellows comment. I interpreted his comments as being against all beauty contests. You seemed to like them until they offended your moral sensibilities.

 

[Lady Day]

Foofoo...Im not going to argue with you.

This is a relevant topic, just not your agenda for it. Your soul reason for this thread, as with many others you make (other than your soul reason to cut and paste articles) is not to collect relevant information in a thread, but to skew a topic toward your way of thinking.

And before you act like a dear in headlights, which you do so well, I welcome this topic. Talk about its rules, its history, the categories, hosts or whatever with actual factual content and not just opinionated fodder you agree with that you googled. You know, actual content. There is a wealth of stuff to talk about.

Leave the opinionated stuff for your blog. Okay.

Carry on.

LD

 

[SayCici]

Since you linked to Miss USA's wiki page:
"The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant."

You can pretend pageant contests are some trumped up parade of honest to goodness American morals in swimsuits but it's a beauty contest. It's a gross symptom of a patriarchal society that objectifies women. Why are you shocked? The contest is a mirror of modern culture, which maybe you don't want to face: women's bodies are over-sexualized. Sex, whether you (general you) dig censorship or not, is everywhere. And yet we have to fight to get comprehensive sex-ed into schools (I'll digress from this point as it's only slightly relevant).

"Is it any surprise that, in a culture which views women as objects to look at and vessels for reproduction, women will try to use the emphasis on their bodies to their own benefit?" - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-filipovic/the-miss-usa-pageant-how-_b_44130.html

I don't recall ever watching Miss USA or America, especially not in recent years, but I remember Miss South Carolina such as 2007 so I'm not sure about South Africa maps the intelligence part Iraq. She brought the empty vessel that was required of her.

So, yeah, I think pageants like this are pretty gross but not for your reasons. It's bad for women and bad for feminism.

 

[lolly_loisides]

And yet we have to fight to get comprehensive sex-ed into schools (I'll digress from this point as it's only slightly relevant).

fftopic:

Really, that's extraordinary. Australia has had comprehensive sexual education classes (in public schools) for at least the last 25 years.

 

[SayCici]

fftopic:

Really, that's extraordinary. Australia has had comprehensive sexual education classes (in public schools) for at least the last 25 years.

Ugh, jealous. In a lot of places it's still "abstinence, abstinence, oh and more abstinence. And if you do have sex you'll die or get pregnant which are equally terrible fates". I watched a documentary once where they interviewed adults who were practicing abstinence and the majority of them said that if they did have sex, they wouldn't use condoms.

 

[Lady Day]

Okay everyone, lets keep this thread on the pageant

LD

 

[lolly_loisides]

Okay everyone, lets keep this thread on the pageant

LD

Sorry

Just a suggestion though, perhaps it's a better idea to talk about beauty contests in general, rather than Miss USA? Being parochial excludes lots of loungers from the discussion.

 

[Kate O Potato]

I think they're rubbish. We've not really been too hot on them over here until recently, it seems. In a recent 'Smile of Sheffield' award (where the girl with the best face won a cash prize), the winner was a girl who bullied both my sister and myself mercilessly throughout secondary school. The fact that she is not judged by who she was and the misery she caused, but by her ability to cover up her faults with a pearly smile made me sick to the stomach.

I'd personally rather be judged on my character and actions rather than my face, or what cup size I am. And anyone who would rather not, needs to take a long hard look at themselves and locate what is missing in their lives that makes them need this constant attention to their appearance. It's so ridiculous, we wouldn't line up lots of hot men and compare the bulges in their shorts!!

 

[Kate O Potato]

Miss America is a role model to young and old alike, and a spokesperson, using her title to educate millions of Americans on an issue of importance to herself and society at large. :eusa_clap

She still has to be pretty and thin though, doesn't she?

 

[Puzzicato]

Everything I know about beauty pageants is from Miss Congeniality, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Little Miss Sunshine. Probably not a balanced view! I can see why a woman would enter this sort of pageant - they do seem to offer a lot of opportunities - but I don't really understand why they bother asking the contestants for their opinions.

 

[Foofoogal]

And before you act like a dear in headlights, which you do so well,

whoa...bite.. deer...

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As a mother and grandmother I did copy and paste the history part of the pageants.
I didn't even realize till this relevant current news story that there are 2 different pageants.
For the record I am not the only one up in arms about this. Across the board.
Conservative and feminist alike.
Not sure what to say to you LD.

 

[Kate O Potato]

As a mother and grandmother I did copy and paste the history part of the pageants.

I think you brought up a relevant and interesting topic.
However, I have to ask, why do American ladies so often start sentences with "as a mother..."? I presume this doesn't apply to all of you, but I hear it quite a lot, especially in the media. As a childless woman I feel that I could have made the same point..!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Saw a piece about this in The Metro (Free Tube newspaper) this morning …

The Baroness K. says:

Is it the contention of the O.P. that beauty pageants were ever anything other than sexualised events, especially at the national level?

bk