The Old School Lunch

I hope what Miss Sweden has done gets other women and their respective nations across the world to do the same. That is, she drops out of the completely ridiculous Miss Universe Pageant and gives The Donald a big “fuck you.”

“We’re taking a big beating by being linked to it,” said Panos Papadopoulos, the organizer of the Miss Sweden contest, which scrapped its swimsuit competition and allowed women to apply for the position like any other job after heavy criticism from feminists.

Participants in the pageant also are breaking the mold.

Miss Jamaica, 25-year-old Zahra Redwood, is the contest’s first Rastafarian and the first to appear in dreadlocks. She wants judges to see her as a “Rastafarian promoting the message of peace, love and unity throughout mankind.”

Miss Tanzania, Flaviana Matata, an electrical technician whose country is participating for the first time, is also challenging stereotypes of beauty with her shaved head. “I never let anyone define me neither by hair nor clothing as I believe God made me perfect as a pure, natural African woman,” she said.

Donald Trump, who now co-owns the contest with NBC, says the Miss Universe Organization has redefined beauty pageants.

“With each passing year our ratings continue to get better because of the beautiful and intelligent women who participate in our competitions,” he declared.

What the do looks, hairstyle, dress and appearance in a bikini have to do with anything remotely involving one’s ability to “represent” a country? What’s the competition? What’s the point? As absolute shit as a “Miss (Nation)” is in the first place…I can somewhat see the purpose there in that the representative is supposed to be a spokesperson for blah blah cause (which is almost always some easy, cop-out cause like “reading is fundamental” or pet shelters) and they then make good of the otherwise ridiculous promotional tour and spread awareness of whatever their charity is. But otherwise, the idea of having a woman representative of a country…just the idea that somehow we have to narrow it down to one..is just mind-boggling in its pointlessness. If anything, the country chooses several representatives of diverse backgrounds, men and women, who show the different sides of the country and can be articulate on the country’s history, culture and main issues facing its inhabitants today. Then you give the middle finger to anyone who wants to pit your representatives against others to see whose looks better in a one-piece just for the sake of competition (becuase there always has to be a winner, right?).