Miss Plastic is too much

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

Maher: Beauty pageants have never been my thing. I wore a purple cape and a silver crown once for Halloween when I was five but that’s where my dreams of being a princess ended. I’ve never longed to be Miss America or dreamed of the day I glide across a stage in front of thousands in my swimsuit. I have never practiced interview questions in my bedroom mirror and I’ve never polished my wave or blown kisses to an imaginary camera.

Despite my lack of an inclination to win a crown, I have never been disgusted with pageants the way some women are. I respect those who participate, even if I never have had the desire to join them. Do I admire the beautiful faces of contestants who appear on our television screens every year preaching about world peace? No, but I don’t boycott the stations that broadcast them either.

It wasn’t until I recently read about a new beauty pageant – Miss Plastic of Hungary – that I really began to care either way about the concept. Yep, Miss Plastic. Apparently Hungary felt as though its citizens didn’t view plastic surgery in the positive light some people believed it should be so they took matters into their hands – ergo Miss Plastic. The beauty queen made of, yes. you guessed it – plastic.

To qualify for the pageant contestants had to prove that they had gone completely under the knife. Botox wasn’t good enough, nor was injected collagen. Breast implants, face lifts and nose jobs however were acceptable and popular among participants. The goal? To encourage Hungarian women to care more about their appearance and show the benefits of being beautiful.

After hearing about this, I was disgusted. I don’t consider myself to be a raging feminist but the thought of a Miss Plastic made my stomach churn. The emphasis our country places on physical beauty is enough for the entire world and I find it horribly sad that it appears our obsession is contagious. It’s one thing to sign up to be judged on your looks, but when surgery becomes a requirement to participate, all signs of respectibility have been lost.

Girls should be raised to be goal-oriented, savvy women. They should be confident in their ability to accomplish whatever it is they may set out to achieve – not meek, compliant people whose purpose is to please the eye.

If you want a woman to be beautiful, teach her to give, help her find a passion, show her how to navigate the world – not just look pretty in it. If expectations for women are kept to physical elements, nothing is being done to enrich the world. And there is not a girl gorgeous enough to make that OK.

• Erin Maher is a Sycamore resident and a graduate of Sycamore High School. She studies journalism at Western Illinois University. She can be reached at erinmaher88@gmail.com.