Athlekinetix Blog

The economy must be getting better, because top stories in the news today are about beauty pageant scandals and not about banks going under. The beauty of beauty pageants historically, is they have always been marred by scandal. This is almost more fun than the talent competitions of yesteryear. Who doesn’t remember Vanessa Williams posing nude and losing her crown in the 80s? I bet she’s had the last laugh on that one with her flourishing career on Broadway, TV, and movies.

The most recent brouhaha has to do with a Miss Universe contestant from Australia who was deemed too skinny by judges to continue at 5′11, 108 pounds. I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out that she could benefit from a few extra Big Macs. The judges found her physique to be an impediment to her ability to be a role model to young girls because Miss Universe is an event which promotes “healthy, proportioned bodies.” I love the fact that we are still parading women around as ‘bodies’ to be judged by others on beauty. We have a long way to go with providing role models for young women if beauty is defined so superficially. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for healthy, proportioned bodies over skinny, anorexic ones. But aren’t women ready to be seen as smart, strong, and powerful instead of just pretty?

The underlying story of this scandal I found even more troubling. Pageant Director Deborah Miller defended the contestant by saying she “had Macedonian heritage which accounts for her extreme thinness just like Asian girls tend to be small.” Huh?! Wow, that is not only bizarre and unheard of, but arguably racist at the same time. Maybe the Australian contestant just doesn’t eat. This seems more likely and even more troubling possibility to me than her Macedonian heritage.

As if this wasn’t fun enough, there was an equally big scandal involving Miss California in the Miss USA pageant. She was asked by a judge, who happens to be gay, her opinion of gay marriage and she said “In my country, I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman.” Whatever your personal beliefs, this woman wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed. She didn’t get the rule book on the Q and A section of pageants. Nobody really cares about her opinion about gay marriage or Iraq, for that matter. The interview portion of these pageants is supposed to be a way for pageants to showcase the “intelligence” of the contestants. Who are we kidding?  Bring me back the bad accordion playing and tap dancing any day rather than this charade.

I am offended by both scandals this week because they both objectify women. If you have to starve yourself and parade yourself in front of the world at Miss Universe in order to be told that you are beautiful, I find that very sad. On the other hand, when pageants pretend to be anything but a beauty contest and claim that women are being judged for their minds in addition to their bodies in the “interview,” I find myself incensed. These interviews are patronizing and demeaning. Maybe the real point of them is not to reveal intelligence on behalf of the contestants, but to make me yearn for the godawful swimsuit competition!

The bottom line is there are no good messages that are being conveyed to young girls through beauty pageants. The ‘anorexic look’ with Miss Australia or the ‘too stupid to tow the neutral pageant line look’ with Miss California highlight everything that is wrong with beauty pageants. Maybe instead of blasting contestants for being poor remodels, we should finally do away with beauty pageants altogether.

Anorexia, once thought of as an eating disorder afflicting teenage girls is now becoming prevalent among middle aged women in alarming numbers. The pressure to be thin is taking its toll now, more than ever before, on women’s health.

Celebrity obsession with weight is one factor in affecting how women gauge their own weights. Size 0 was not in existence in past years, let alone the norm for famous actors walking the red carpets. As if this is not troubling enough, there is now size 00. Everyday women with healthy physiques look at these incredibly shrinking bodies and try to recreate themselves in this image.

Adult anorexia is similar to anorexia in adolescents in that it stems from a general lack of self esteem. Women, today, are pulled in so many directions and face pressures to be perfect in all of their roles that they starve themselves because it is the only area of their lives they can control.

The problem that adult anorexia uniquely poses that makes it different from conventional anorexia, is that moms are role modeling unhealthy eating patterns and disordered behaviors for their daughters.

The treatment of adult anorexia should be a family affair, because most likely moms are not the only people affected. Achieving good health, not thinness, should be everyone’s goal.