It’s Miss World’s 70th anniversary – but why do we still judge women’s looks?
A BIG anniversary is usually something to celebrate.
But as Miss World gets ready to mark its 70th annual pageant — where women get to compete to see who looks the best — my possibly unpopular vote is that this year should be its last.
I say this not quite in the spirit of quitting while it’s ahead.More like quitting before the world notices just how outdated it is to gather together a group of women, pit them against each other and rate them for the way they appear.
Surely it’s time for another protest, like the one in 1970.
There is a new film out with Keira Knightley about that 1970 Miss World contest.
Sure, Miss World is different now and, thankfully, no longer has a bikini section.
But the process of evaluating women based on who is the prettiest and, let’s face it, thinnest, is still outdated.
It was invented by Eric Morley in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, and he called it the Festival Bikini Contest.
Since it went down well with the Press, who dubbed it “Miss World”, the name stuck and it became an annual event that was celebrated by seemingly everyone.
Until women’s lib came along, that is.
It is 50 years since the Women’s Liberation Movement stormed the 1970 Miss World pageant at the Royal Albert Hall in London, throwing flour bombs and wielding water pistols at host Bob Hope. They wanted to highlight just how preposterous the whole event was.
And yet, 50 years later, here we still are — getting ready for another Miss World pageant.
To be fair, things have improved a bit. In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With A Purpose, with added tests of intelligence and personality.
And yet. I still find it problematic.
Last year, a beauty queen took legal action against the contest because she was banned from taking part for being a mother.
Veronika Didusenko, 24, was crowned Miss Ukraine in 2018 but was stripped of her national title after it was revealed she was divorced and had a young son. She was also banned from entering the Miss World finals.
So Miss World is still peddling archaic views on the close relationship between “womanhood” and virtue.
HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR WOMEN?
How much has really changed when it comes to women’s place in society since 1970?
The sexualisation of women and young girls has never been more prevalent. Women may be allowed careers now but we all know that, at the same time, we are still judged and valued for our youth and the way we look.
Meanwhile, filters and Photoshop are commonplace, altering the already unrealistic standards of female “beauty” to somewhere in the region of totally unattainable.
Some people I know look so “great” on Instagram they are actually unrecognisable in real life.
So much of teenagers’ anxiety is appearance-based.
Self-harming, eating disorders, self-hatred, body-dysmorphia and unnecessary cosmetic surgical interventions are all on the rise.
So, in my view, there is simply no longer a place for a pageant that evaluates women almost entirely on the way they look.
Spiteful mather blather
THE journalist who said “many people” consider Meghan Markle to be “five clicks up from trailer trash” should be ashamed.
London-based Victoria Mather took it upon herself to speak for the nation on American TV about Meghan and Harry stepping back from royal duties.
Asserting that the Duchess of Sussex has been disrespectful to the Royal Family and its protocol, she said: “I think what has really, really upset the British public is that Meghan Markle – who many people consider as only, you know, five clicks up from trailer trash – has actually tried to disrespect the Queen.”
She does not speak for me with this disgraceful comment, which I thought was spiteful and unnecessary.
CARRY ON DESPITE CORONA
AND there we all were, wishing that we could talk about something other than Brexit.
Well, coronavirus has solved that. In fact, this virus seems to be the only thing anyone can talk about.
We are all monitoring the news, which changes on an hourly basis.
We are all worrying about our loved ones and hoping they stay safe.
On Monday at West Ham it was business as usual, but by Friday the Premier League had been suspended.
And I can report that the House of Lords is still open for business and I spoke in a debate on Friday and everyone was in good spirits.
As one of the Lords said to me: “My parents were sent to war – we are being sent to our sofas!”
That said, it’s been quieter there than I have ever known it and so it should be.
The average age at the House of Lords is 70, which puts them in one of the most vulnerable age groups when it comes to coronavirus.
So I am guessing it is only a matter of time before it (along with everything else) closes down. But until then, we will carry on.
Weinstein caging is a triumph
ALTHOUGH he spent much of his trial trying to garner pity and present himself as a poor, defenceless, vulnerable old man with a walking frame, I feel zero sympathy for Harvey Weinstein, who faces spending the next 23 years in prison.
Weinstein got the sentence he deserved, despite his lawyers pleading for leniency for a “first offence”, because of his contribution to the film industry (the very vehicle he used to attack women) and his ill-health.
that this pathetic attempt to evade justice was disregarded.
Working together
HOW’S this for a job ad?
Volunteers could be paid £3,500 to be infected with coronavirus as scientists race to find a vaccine.
The Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Centre in London is recruiting 24 people to be injected with two weaker strains of the deadly virus – which, worldwide, has killed more than 5,800 people – giving them similar respiratory symptoms.
A jab developed by the company Hvivo will then be tested.
To me this sounds like the job from hell.
No choice on footie freeze
IT is strange being at home this weekend with no football, as players and managers test positive for Covid-19.
If we can’t play the games – if we can’t finish the season – what happens about relegation and promotion?
No one wants the season cancelled. (West Ham are currently 16th, just above the drop zone.)
If there is any chance of finishing the season, the only option is to postpone ALL matches for now, assess the situation and hope those with the virus fully recover.
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Most clubs have closed their training grounds for deep-cleaning and are asking people to work from home.
But my team’s players including Mark Noble will be back at training on Tuesday and, all being well, we will be ready to play the rest of the games from April 4.
But will everyone else be ready?
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