As I sat in my family room watching the Miss Universe pageant Friday night, I found myself wondering if I would have the guts to stand up there on stage and be scrutinized for my body like these women do.To be half-naked in front of millions who are judging how you look in a two-piece is not my idea of a good time.Yet hundreds of women do this every year in an effort to win tons of money, fame and the recognition that comes with being Miss Universe.What is the point?I mean, really, in the 1990s, can’t women find any better way to judge their self-worth than a pageant? A display of how well you can strut in front of demanding judges who notice any gleam of cellulite on the backs of those thighs?Pageants HAD their place in society just like everything else, the key word here being “had.” Think about it for a sec. You don’t watch pageants to catch up on a storyline, to hear a great speaker or to witness a history-making event (the last part is debatable by pageant-goers and the like).You watch pageants to see gorgeous women in beautiful dresses and little bathing suits. Not that there is anything wrong with this, I mean this entertainment medium has its place as well.But I think it’s pretty wrong that these women win loads of money for merely looking good.In the age of the plastic surgeon, “looking-good” has come to refer to how much money you can fork over for new boobs or a flat tummie ‹ not to the beauty you were born with.I don’t know for a fact, but I’d be willing to bet serious money that some of these women vying to be Miss Universe had a plastic surgeon’s phone number on their speed dial.Anyhow, why should anyone, (male or female) be credited with an accomplishment for simply looking good?Perhaps Mr. Donald Trump could shed some light to this question. He owns the Miss Universe pageant, and seems to put a high price on looking good. For example, Miss Universe 1996 was told by Mr. Trump to lose the weight she had put on during her reigning year or else she would lose her title.Whatever.I’m sure that excess weight all of a sudden made her a “bad” Miss Universe, needing to be sent to Jenny Craig before the whole Miss Universe stigma went down the tubes. It’s sickening to think a person’s accomplishments could be stripped away merely for indulging in the Haagan Daaz now and then.Sure, one could make the argument that this former Miss Universe should lose the weight because her looks are what won her the pageant anyway.So what? With that argument, a person is saying that her accomplishment lies with what numbers pop up on the bathroom scale.Makes no sense to me.I must give snaps to Miss USA for her response to the question, “What outrageous thing would you do for one day?”She said she would eat everything in the world, and then eat it twice.Too bad she couldn’t partake now and then while waiting for that crowning day.
Nicole Pankuch is a senior majoring in journalism from Stow, Ohio who challenges anyone to give her a valid argument for why pageants based on appearances should stick around.
