Do you find beauty contests offensive?

:roflmao:

Indeed. I'm with you on that one.

I dunno. I'm writing in my own answer. While I think they're pretty pointless, it really depends on the nature of the contest. It depends on how the contestants are treated and the nature of the pageant itself. If it's strictly based on physical beauty, I think it's pretty lame. And contests that objectify their contestants are not cool at all.

 

HAHA, i can agree with that.
don't forget that they also hold different kinds of pageants, like transgender pageants and "little kid, spoiled annie mommies" pageants. i do agree that society as a whole, lost a sense of direction when it comes to beauty.

 

Not really.

I don't see them as being that different to sporting contests (be it the Olympics, the World Cup, the Superbowl etc). At the end of the day athletes are by and large "genetically blessed" individuals (with a bit of hard work thrown in sure, but genes are the foundation) who show off their physical prowess. I don't think there are many athletes who become superstars through hard-work and determination alone.

I can see people's problem with beauty pageants setting unfair standards on the majority by holding beauty up on a pedestal, however again, the same can be said about sports. I watch pro-tennis and think, "wow, I wish I was that athletic". Similarly I'm sure you could argue the Paralympics sets unrealistic standards for many with disabilities (in a "that person with Cerebral Palsy can run 100m, why can't you?" sort of way). Or chess tournaments might set unreasonable standards for those of us who have no tactical skill.

All these sort of events show an "ideal" that might be unrealistic for us to achieve. Do they offend me then? Nope, you just have to take them as entertainment and get on with enjoying life.

 

I get offended when people see beauty as a certain size or shape or look. I view beauty kindness, compassion and how you treat others.

 

I'm 50:50. I think it's horrible how a majority of them objectify women and judge them based on their physical appearance. At the same time, my self-esteem has gone to shit and I this is probably the only solution.

I've received several letters for the "Miss Atlanta" pageant, and the only reason why I haven't gone is because my parents don't want to spend money on me.

 

Being good at tennis is only really an advantage in life when you're playing tennis though, whereas being physically beautiful is seen as being important nearly all the time, when it shouldn't be. There's certainly not nearly as many people as insecure with their tennis as with their looks.

Also, whilst genetics plays a significant part in someone's ability to play sport, it still takes a lot more effort to get good at a particular sport than it does to be beautiful which is almost entirely innate and hence not really worth much admiration.

I would say that both qualities are overvalued though.

 

But studies have found people on average tend to find athletes more attractive. So yes they do often carry an advantage into everyday life too, probably even more of an advantage than beauty pageant entrants as they have more strings to their bow (their looks and their physical prowess).

You can argue its all cause and affect. Are athletes attractive because of their fitness? Or are they simply born with "better" genes. Either way we hold them up on a pedestal and say "this is the peak of human fitness", in turn setting unrealistic body standards for many.

 

Never really found beauty contests all that interesting. Then again, I get tired of seeing the same standards for beauty in them. I'd like a little variety.

Beauty should be emphasized more about what makes a person, not what make up a person has. It kind of implies the notion, you have to look like this, or you won't be acknowledged fully. Some of the most beautiful people I've met, wouldn't even be considered for a preliminary hearing. And that saddens me.

 

For adults, I guess they are ok, although I do feel for all the women who don't quite match up to the supposedly perfect features of all those models, and I wonder how it makes them feel when they see guys drooling over such things. (Just thought I would add, that personally, I was never really into them when I was straight (assuming I ever was)..

For kids, totally inappropriate, and imo a subtle form of child abuse. And parents who actually push their kids to enter into them, placing those kids into a situation where they will be judged largely on how they appear, rather than on who they are as developing human beings, well those parents are pretty disgraceful.

 

Most competitive shows offend me or bother to some degree.

 

I dont know if I find them blatantly offensive but I wholeheartedly agree with this post.

I think its the whole idea of placing womens value mostly in the realm of being physically attractive, and that the more you meet the norm of what is considered beautiful, the more valuable to society you are.

We need to put a stop to the correlating beauty with "perfection" ie perfect (flawless) skin, perfect body etc etc or with youth. Its a disease of our culture

 

To everyone offended by beauty pageants:

I know there's rules about linking things here and I don't know them very well, so if you google "underground beauty salons in the middle east" you'll find a link to a FOXNews article talking about how the women there go through many of the same beauty regimens as women from other parts of the world, to me shows that beauty can be a very rewarding thing and the fact that some men feel the need to partake in these beauty regiments themselves further justifies my argument that "beauty" is not a culturally imposed waste of time but a natural and really fun part of being feminine.

*breaths*!!!

The REAL controversy is those TV kid pageants and how they are sexualize children... is if we're worried about beauty pageants let's focus on that.

 

I don't find them offensive but I do find them objective because what I may find attractive someone else may not or vice versa. The people judging these contests may only have one vision of beauty e.g being tall, very skinny, high cheek bones etc, when there are many different types of beauty.

 

I don't find them offensive. I think they can be a great way to actually raise how a person feels about themselves. However I do hate the people that put way too much pressure on their kids in the pageants it should just be for fun.

 

Don't know if offensive is the right word.
If they're adults, I kind of pity them.

Kids contests though - I have a problem with.
Even things like "The Voice Kids".
Fame has the ability to obliterate innocence and steal a person's childhood.