'Tis the season

Its that time of year again. The National American Miss people are sending out flyers. Last year's I really didn't like, and this year's I found more issues with, after a year of paying attention to feminist blogs. Lets examine this:



First, the cover



Typical Euro-centric ideal of beauty? Check. Airbrushing? Check. "Fashionable"? Check. Vaguely pained look? Check. "Sexy" Posing? Check. Looks old enough to be the mother of the audience targeted? Why is she even on this thing?



The inside



EVEN MORE European girls? Check. Posing? Check. Now onto the highlighted stuff. That's were it gets really insidious.

• "Makeup is not allowed on our participants ages 4-12 during the event." Well, that sure didn't stop you from airbrushing their pictures, did it?


• "The National American Miss pageants are dedicated to celebrating America's greatness and encouraging its future leaders." Apparently "America's greatness" is little pretty white girls. Also: to be a leader and a girl, you must be pretty. No two ways about it.


• "You'll gain... self-confidence...You'll feel good about yourself." Yes, I'm sure it will help boost the Hispanic girl from my old hometown who also received this flyer's self-confidence that the only girls pictured on the sides are clearly European and the overweight girl down the street will feel better about herself when all the girls there are thin.


• "If not accepted into the pageant..." Way to judge a girl on her looks when she's supposed to be a "future leader".


• "The total fee for the pageant is $440." Well, my goodness, that sure explains why there's pretty much just white girls on this! You only want people with half a thousand dollars lying around! Poor people, obviously, are ugly; and unfit to associate with you until they can cut food or utilities bills to pay for this.

And the back

Finally, some token racial diversity! Posing? Check. Airbrushing? Check. Ridiculously happy smiles? Check. People who are clearly models with their perfectly white teeth and shaped eyebrows who are surely not the sort of people who would actually be at this? Check.

One last highlighted thing:
"All you'll need is:

• A prom dress or evening gown
• A suit or dress for interview
• Official production number t-shirt outfit (available on pageant weekend for a nominal charge)"

Say it with me people: Hidden Costs! So lets say you manage to scrape up half a thousand dollars to go to this thing. Now they want you to buy a prom dress! And a suit! And a t-shirt for "a nominal charge"! Turns out you need more like another $430 there!

Total cost: $870. Way to raise the bar. Now they only want you if you've got about a thousand dollars lying around! Now I know why the popular pretty girls on TV are always rich whites! They're the only ones with enough money to be official.

Congratulations, National American Miss pageants. You have now officially sent the most racist and classist bit of mail I have ever seen.

Pertinent Thoughts on "Glee"

I am currently watching TV.
This is the first time I have watched Glee. The episode: "The Power of Madonna".

Now, all I know about Madonna is she was a singer, and she is a sex symbol. That is hardly what I would call empowering. But in this episode, Madonna is being held up as a good role model in terms of independence and the message of her songs.

I don't know many of her songs. Independence is a good thing. But the thing is, the independence is completely swallowed by the image.

And the dancing. The women of Glee are, happily, dancing in suits. But there is entirely to much of the bending-over, shaking of the hips, butt and chest to actually focus on any message in the song. Does no one dance with dignity anymore? Any hint of self-respect? Clearly not.

I was made to attend a school pep-rally for spring sports today. It was terribly boring, but I find it entirely offensive that the dance team should dress like they're "going clubbing" (something expressly forbidden in school attire) and dance so that they look like strippers.

You all know what I'm talking about. The slide of the hands down the sides, accentuated by the slow roll of the torso and hips, finished by a hip-thrusting, balanced-one-leg pose. The hip shaking. The chest bobbing. The bending over, legs spread apart, head suddenly coming up followed by the hands in one big, contorted pin-up. The focus on the hips, stomach area, and chest.

At a school assembly, nonetheless.
Where catcalls and whistling followed the dance.

Also: one person in the school on Glee, the guidance counselor, is "forbidden" to have Madonna played in her office because she has none of the "sexual magnetism" that Madonna had/has.

EDIT: Glee has a montage of bedroom scenes between the three 'couples' of the episode. Two of these couples are teenagers. I thought the idea was to not promote teenage sex. To keep people out of the idea that they must have sex. To support the girl who says, "No, I don't feel ready to have sex, I don't want too." to the boy she had a date with that night. Not have her change her mind after an episode filled with Maddona to eventually tell him "I'm ready".
So I am understandably relieved that after the commerical break, it is revealed that none of the couples actually had sex.
Good for you, Glee.