Wednesday 2 April 2014

Beauty pageants - How about something different?

I remember many of us have sat in front of the TV with great excitement, struggling with our sleep trying to catch many of the beauty pageants relayed late in the night.

In many of pageants, some of our own country-women have been crowned Miss Universe, Miss World, etc. I understand there are also categories like Miss Photogenic, Miss Congeniality (or was this only a movie?) and so on. Often times, also shown is the preparation that the contestants go through, prior to participating in them. No doubt it is hard work.

Image source : Google Images

Though it is emphasized time and again that the attitude, intellect and other aspects of the contestant is evaluated during these pageants, I am somehow not convinced beyond a certain point. Many women who participate in this undergo teeth correction and what not. So, where is their "natural" beauty after all those corrections, trainings, counselling, et al? I understand that such pageants exist for men too.

Once they win these contests many of them go about endorsing various products or join films. Very few really walk the talk of bringing about positive changes to the society or world peace or emulating Mother Theresa, though they wax eloquent about these topics.

That set me thinking.

Why can't we have pageants in which people are crowned as Miss Kindness, Miss Compassion, Mr Integrity, Mr Inspiration and so on?

The winners of these pageants would be through voting by the entire nation or the world, what with social media and all that. These pageants should be open only for the common people; common people who have really emulated Mother Theresa without proclaiming to, or have done their bit to make the society & world a better place or have surmounted great difficulties in their lives by their sheer will power and grit, say like, Nick Vujicic or Bethany Hamilton or Sudha Chandran or Dr. Sunitha Krishnan or Narayanan Krishnan or Dr. H Sudharshan or Saalumarada Thimakka or Lizzie Velasquez or scores of such really beautiful people.

Nick Vujicic and Bethany Hamilton
(Source : Google Images)

Saalumarada Thimakka with all the
trees she has planted and tended to
over decades, all on her own.
(Source: Google Images)


Such people give hope to the hopeless, inspire people to believe in themselves and to finish strong. So many lives would change for the better. The ripple effect it would produce would be mind-boggling.

Isn't that what we want for ourselves and for the kids? Wouldn't such qualities rather than just being a pretty face, really help them at all times in their lives?

With such people winning these "beauty" pageants, the depth and breadth of positivity generated will be immense.

Yes, I would wholeheartedly support such pageants crowning real life heroes as they really contribute to bringing about......
(Source : Google Images)





This post is for A-Z Challenge 2014

26 comments:

  1. Very well said Prathi. Miss kindness, Ms Inspiration...well, they are not at all hard to find. We glorify glamour and look down upon 'real'

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    1. Thanks Janu... yes, we have this habit of excluding the real deal.

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  2. It would indeed be wonderful, but most people would find it boring! Unfortunately, most people are that superficial!

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    1. Valid point, Roshni ! I wish I can find a solution to address both aspects. :)

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  3. I agree with Roshni. But, I wish we could have such titles.

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  4. While not a pageant winner, but I think Angelina Jolie has done a lot of good.

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    1. Thank you for dropping by, Hrishikesh. Certainly, there are so many including Angelina Jolie who are doing a lot. Our very own Sushmita Sen has adopted two girls and took up the role of a mother albeit single, which is very laudable.

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  5. that's very thought provoking indeed. these people are more valuable to society than these beauty pageant winners.

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and your thoughts, Dr. Gauri. The examples I have taken here have gone beyond the physical to finish strong.

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  6. pageants for real life beauties . Now that is some thing Prathima . If there is such thing I will for sure vote :)
    good take

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    1. Thank you for dropping by Afshan. I am also looking out for something like this to vote for. :)

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  7. Now that's a beauty pageant that I would readily watch. I too detest the regular beauty pageants because of the hypocrisy. If a hourglass figure matters, why talk rot about world peace? Viewers are not fools.

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Cynthia! After the first few wins jokes on the questions and answers started appearing on how to prepare for the beauty pageants. The "question paper' was out :). Too much focus on the physical aspect takes away focus on the real things that matter. Physical beauty lasts only so long, after that what?

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  8. Very nice idea, Prat, but I'd have to agree with the others here - in that such an award show wouldn't see the light of day....sadly, we do live in a world of apathy....

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    1. Hope springs eternal, Lux! Maybe someday, someday the coin might drop.

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  9. Very nice idea indeed, Prat...but sadly we live in a world of apathy and superficiality rules...

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    1. We can always dream of a perfect caring world and who knows it might become reality sometime. :)

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  10. They do have awards for heroes - people who contribute to their community, brave children, those who work hard for charity, etc. It's rarely televised or promoted though - which is a shame.

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    1. Thank you for visiting Piper George! Yes, there are awards and I fully agree that they do not have the same kind of publicity or reach. Nor do they evoke much interest, I guess.

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  11. Your mention of Nick Vujicic gladdened my heart. What an awesome man he is!

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  12. I agree with your sentiment. We place too much importance on superficial beauty and nowhere near enough to inner beauty. In fact my own B post today is on Beauty and how it simple takes control.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by LittleCely. I agree with you and will look up your post.

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  13. As they say.. "Those who do not have hope, have nothing"... we are lucky to have such role models in our times to look up to when we go through bad times..

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