18 August 2010Ms Universe contestants in body paint spark complaints

18 August 2010Ms Universe contestants in body paint spark complaints


Contestant: It’s art.”

Me: “Oh, really?”

Huffington Post: “Fox411 has slammed Miss Universe, saying the competition has "sunk to a new low" after some contestants posed topless for a promotional photo shoot. As Courtney Friel exclaims, they "even used body paint like the Playboy Bunnies!"



http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/08/18/miss-universe-body-paint-photos/

Aug 18th 2010 By Julieanne Smolinsk

“Miss USA, Rima Fakih, had this to say: "I've always wanted to do body paint, and the fact that we get to do it with Miss Universe, that just shows you that there's going to be a lot of professional artists." See, guys? Art! I can agree with Rima on this. If being painted to look like the wall of a hippie coffee shop in Portland is so wrong, I don't want to be right.”

“today, in the wake of the controversy, can we just take a moment to ask ourselves why we're still even having pageants?



Are some people upset that the contestants are semi-nude because, as "Miss Universe," the winner would be our galactic ambassador in the event of an alien invasion? Don't worry, guys! Pageants actually don't mean anything. These women are not responsible for the fate of human diplomacy in such a case.



They are, apparently, pretty much sexy, live versions of the "It's a Small World" ride -- but naked-er. As the pageant's V.P. of marketing and P.R. said in a statement about the photographs, "The contestants who compete at Miss Universe are diverse, as they represent more than 82 countries around the globe. Many of their cultures embrace nudity." Whoa, not the United States! We're not one of those awesome countries where you can show nipples during yogurt commercials. “

Change in nature from hoping to lever the nation into some degree of reality about Islam and the other religious myths that keep us at each other’s throats. Well, actually, this may not be as much distance as I intended. After all, the body modesty that surrounds most of us is religiously derived and reinforced.

The various beauty pageants, held semi-naked or nude, are events that I’ve never understood. I fully understand the beauty of the female human body. I understand that some have a greater degree of pulchritude than do others. I understand that minor pigmentation and hair differences can cause more or less exotic appearance.

What I don’t understand is the costuming and the attempt to make the women who participate into something other than what they are. Expensive ball gowns and high-heeled shoes don’t interest me. Nor do I care for high heels with swimming suits. I’ve heard the excuse, “It makes your legs look better.” I don’t buy it.

I don’t care for make-up. Most women do not need make-up. If they knew how much of that stuff originated in grease traps and other unsavory catchments, they might think differently before painting it on with trowels.

I really don’t care for breast implants. They have a valuable place in reconstructive surgery. But otherwise I find that they detract from the beauty of a woman. We’re in a media and fashion driven lunacy that wants us to believe that only big breasts are acceptable. Men, being essentially hormone driven, have bought this myth. Surprisingly, women have too.

Here’s the point and the truth. The beauty emanating from female breasts is about motion through time and space, shape, and proportionality. Look at classical Greek and Roman sculpture and see if you can get the idea. Cadillac/ICBM nosecones from the 1950s didn’t convey beauty. Those things designed to make women look like they’re wearing leather armor or like they just popped out of an injection mold don’t convey beauty.

As do women, breasts come in different sizes and shapes. They move when women move. They have nipples that become erect and then relax. We all know this. Trying to disguise it with implants and with badly designed clothing does not contribute to or convey beauty.

If sponsors really want to run a beauty contest, the rules should be simple: “Come as you are.” Anything else is just an arrangement with fashion houses, make up manufacturers, and breast implant manufacturers to pimp their products under the guise of handing out scholarships.

Scholarship candidates should apply to Jeopardy and display their intellect openly and honestly. For the less intellectually endowed, let’s do away with the “important questions about world matters.” Many of the contestants can’t find their homes on a street map or their nation of birth on a globe. If there is a surplus of “questions for beauty pageant contestants” they could be used to produce a panel program on Comedy Central. Sarah Palin has been a prime example of how potentially amusing that could be.

As for the pageants and our culture, I don’t care if skin gets shown on television. The glimpse of anatomy will not hasten the downfall of the United States. If it hastens the demise of religious fundamentalism and its grip on our laws, culture, and lives, so much the better.

Back to the beginning. Body paint is great if done well. I would rather see a body paint event in these contest than a ball gown or swim suit event.