I have been a model for 10 years and along with this I co organised the Miss Great Britain Beauty pageant when Danielle Lloyd was the winner and for a few years after that. So I feel like I have been on both sides of the fence.
I am also very passionate about empowering young women and hope to one day be a role model for them to feel beautiful no matter what their size, shape or hair colour.
I ask you, is the problem really with beauty pageants or is it that we are comparing ourselves to the women in the pageants and the pictures we see in magazines and of celebrities? Is it not that we are failing to be empowered and have self confidence instilled in us from a young age? We see our friends/parents criticing themselves and the way they look but telling us to feel confident and that we are perfect the way we are, surely we should be practicing what we preech and leading by example?
So is focusing on things like beauty pageants helpful? If pageants were banned would all of our insecurities suddenly melt away? Would the eating disorders in young girls and boys stop? Would plastic surgery fail to exist?
Isn't being able to recognise beauty without it making us feel insecure a better goal than trying in vain to ban beauty pageants and therefore inadvertedly saying you can not celebrate your beauty?
I know from my own experience one day I will feel great about myself go out wearing no makeup and be happy to sit with a group of glammed up gorgeous friends without feeling insecure, another day I would find this prospect attrocious.
In this particular instance, surely it is not Amy's fault that she is beautiful and therefore causing others like Rebecca Adlington to feel bad about themselves?
Comments from Rebbeca like "she doesn't know what its like on a day to day basis she is stunning" and "she is stick thin, got theses push up bras that make her boobs seem massive , shes absolutely beautiful, its just one of those things that we are promoting that way of being that way and its like why not just be a normal girl"
The thing is we are all normal no matter how we look. Millions adorn their bodies with tattoos just like millions wear push up bras and hair extensions.
There will always be beautiful people in this world with or without beauty pageants. Don't we need to work on our self confidence and inner beauty to be able to say that dress looks amazing on your tiny waist without it making us feel bad?
I am very intersted to hear all your comments and thoughts on this.
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I think I love this post!!
ReplyDeleteI was getting so angry watching I'm A Celebrity last night. When Miss World was a bit more of a big deal in the UK in the 90s I loved watching it. I absolutely loved the glamour of it all and watching all these stunning women in nice dresses. I look nothing like any of the women in these pageants and yet watching them does anything but make me feel insecure. I think blaming pageants for peoples insecurities is ridiculous. These insecurities come from women believing they should be comparing themselves to others and that isn't the fault of beauty pageants. If beauty pageants weren't around there's just as many beautiful actresses or models or even everyday people on the street that are going to cause these same insecurities.
I came away from I'm a Celeb last night really not having a good opinion of Rebecca or Lucy. To me it almost seemed like they were picking on Amy simply because she is beautiful. I mean, they were acting like she's never had any insecurities or she's never had a bad word said about which she obviously has done as do others in the public eye. Last night it just felt like those two and also Laila/Mo were putting Amy down to make themselves feel better which was so childish and unnecessary and goes back to my original point of women feeling the need to compare themselves.
When Rebecca left to cry and Laila/Mo went in there and said "you're so beautiful, much better than her" it really got me angry, to me people should be beautiful in their own way not be "better" than other people. Amy has done nothing to any of these women and yet they were almost ganging up on her as if being an attractive woman, and a naturally attractive woman at that, was a crime.
I could really go on and on about this subject because last night really aggravated me but I'll keep it short(ish) and sweet lol.
Lisa x
http://uniqueornbeauty.blogspot.co.uk
Ashly this was very well written, I totally agree with you.. I hope you get that message out there :)
ReplyDeleteI've not seen the show so prob shouldn't comment but is the argument not that pageants only promote a certain kind of beauty? There's plenty of people that are genuinely attractive pretty women but would do well in them.
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