Saturday, September 18, 2004

There she is ... Miss Don't-Know-Jack

Ok, so I'm watching the Miss Americ@ pageant (why? Because I'm a masochist, okay?), and the swimsuit competition came on. I haven't seen this spectacle for a few years, and honestly, I'm confused. What really is the point of this part of the contest? All of these women have bodies I would love to have. What is the criteria used? Would a short and curvy woman who was still obviously in good shape score as high as one who is tall and slender? I can see why it is kept, because it means ratings. I can even understand some of the rationale for including it in the scoring--it takes time and effort to keep yourself toned and slender, even if you are genetically inclined towards that kind of body. But I want to know what you get points on. The best able to smile without showing how much you hate being there with tape holding your ass up?

What really got to me, though, is the little quiz portion the final five contestants had to go through. It was multiple-choice, and the topics were mainly civics and current events. All the contestants knew where the next Summer Olympics were being held: Beijing, China. But only ONE, just ONE, even with the choices of 1920,1925, and 1930, were able to say when women got the vote in this country. As far as I'm concerned, if you are supposed to be a role model for America's young women and win thousands in scholarship money, you really ought to know something like that.

It's only 5 percent of the score, while the swimsuit part is 10 percent. And the scholarships total $40,000. Guess I should have taken fewer English classes and more Physical Education ones in school.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

They never have any pageants for my criteria either, dammit. But really, you'd think one of the grading sheets would have been leaked to the press, or at least to one of the pop culture arcana sites by now. Vaseline on teeth, Preparation H under eyes, duct tape and diuretics.

PS: why the L33T spellings?

C@rl0s in 8r00klyn

Carrie said...

Carlos,

So kiddies looking up the topic don't run across my blog. I don't need that kind of traffic. Though it may be my only traffic other than you...