| They may be one of Britain's most
successful exports and among the world's most popular TV shows, ranking
alongside the World Cup Final and the Olympic Games opening ceremony in terms of
audience. But, in Britain, beauty competitions are unfashionable. To most
people, beauty contests seem as out-dated as bowing. Nicolas Barker, a lawyer in
London, said that "As much as I think it's fine for women to do it. I don't
think it's interesting and in fact. I think they're irrelevant to today." Last
year, Miss World was broadcast to 142 countries, but it wasn't even shown in
this country where it started in 1951. It wasn't always this way in Britain. Once, beauty queens dated footballers, traveled the world and were guaranteed fame, fortune and fun. Now, they open new supermarkets, are sponsored by dry-cleaning companies and, if they're lucky, they get free clothes from supermarkets. When Francesca Marchant was crowned Miss Sussex in 1969, it was something to be extremely proud of. "I came from a small town, and all my friends were green with envy when they found out I'd won. My boyfriends at the time thought it was terrific and boasted to everyone that he was going out with a beauty queen." But the good times couldn't last. The feminist movement gathered momentum. Some women were determined to bring an end to these "cattle shows". Nowadays, saying that you were a beauty queen just doesn't sound good. Miss World organizers claim that contestants are judged on qualities other than just their physical appearance. But, Jacqueline Gold, England's representative at this year's contest, was not chosen because of her academic record. The Miss World Website states that she "left school having gained many computer qualifications, and certificates in First Aid and Life Saving", meaning, not much of an education. The only time the contests attract attraction now is because of the protesters. At the 1999 Miss World in Britain, around 60 demonstrators hurled flour bombs and fought with the police. They denounced the beauty contest as a "sexist cattle market". They waved banners saying "fat girls are cool" and "women's bodies are not for sale". |