Humans are a vain and conceited species so it is no wonder that beauty remains one of the most discussed topics the world over. Though it is often said that beauty and brains rarely exist together, there are a lot of instances where people attempt to disprove this theory; perhaps the most famous of these are beauty pageants. Although most people would insist that beauty pageants are just that- a forum to judge a person’s physical appearance- the inclusion of interview rounds in these gives them the semblance that you cannot win one without your wits.

The strangest thing about beauty pageants is that those for females seem to be more publicized than those for men. Whether this is because women care more about their appearance (do I hear sounds of disagreement?) than do men or because this involves displaying women for the enjoyment of men is still up for debate. Not surprisingly, beauty pageants these days place a whole lot of importance upon sexuality. Chances of a woman who is tomboyish in appearance winning one is quite low, so does this mean that femininity is the keyword to winning?

Perhaps, not completely. 21 year old Fiona has participated in some ‘beauty’ competitions in the past few years and according to her the secret to winning lies not just in the physical appearance and speaking one’s mind but in being able to correctly guess just what the judges wish to hear in the interview round. Describing herself as the ‘ultimate phenomenal woman’, Fiona explains that these competitions have become a forum for people to search out like-minded and liberal individuals and, thus, is a way of bridging the gap between the genders. Fiona insists that judges ask controversial questions during such competitions because it is the only way to get people interested in sensitive issues like SSM (same sex marriage), discussing the possibility that God is a woman, and more.

Questions related to sexuality and sexual freedom have increased in beauty pageants over the past years and perhaps this is for the better. Certainly, with the amount of exposure such events have it works not just as a forum for providing the masses with an eloquently produced different viewpoint but also as encouragement for male beauty pageants such as the Mr. Gay, Ms. Gay, and similar LGBT beauty pageants. After all, ladybois and tomboys are beautiful, too..

Images 1 2 3 4

Thanks, Fiona!