Pondering pageants

Organizers of the Miss Canada Pakistan pageant recently came under

fire from Muslim groups, charging that the competition demeans women.

The pageant, which was to take place March 19, was to feature 13

Pakistani women from across the country in a variety of competitions,

but not a swimsuit competition. Muslim leaders in Canada have

complained that such pageants have no place in Islam, one saying that

“external beauty is not something to celebrate on stage,” and that

the women would degrade themselves by participating. Organizers said

the competition is not about showing off the women’s bodies. Are

pageants, by their nature, demeaning toward women? Are women who

participate in such competitions degrading themselves?

The human body is one of God’s most glorious creations.

Aspirations for success and self-fulfillment are deeply rooted in our

collective American psyche. Balancing these two realities is key to

many questions ranging from art to pornography to ... beauty

pageants.

Certainly the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo’s David are art, and

I will trust that we will agree with Supreme Court Justice William

Potter and “know pornography when we see it.” But beauty pageants may

well be either cultural events to be appreciated and enjoyed or gross

exploitation to be terminated. Success in such events has brought

feelings of fulfillment to many and prosperity to some, from Dorothy

Lamour to Diane Sawyer to Vanessa Williams to our governor.

Recent revelations of vicarious aspirations from contestants’

families and shenanigans by their agents and pageant promoters and

other corner-cuttings and extravagant excesses have jeopardized, even

scandalized, such events.

National media seem less interested in covering such pageants and,

personally, they have not interested me since 1980 when, after a

quarter of a century of doing so, Bert Parks stopped singing “There

she is ... “

As with other similar challenges, Christians must decide how they

may (and may not) faithfully display their body as a gift from God,

what it means to “dress modestly and decently in suitable clothing”

(1 Timothy 2:9), ways to be the “salt” and “light” Jesus intended in

Matthew 5:13-14, and how best to give back to God the glory in

creation that God has given to us.

VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

This week, the Jewish people celebrated its annual festival of

Purim, based on the Biblical Book of Esther. That Jewish maiden, with

God’s blessing, participated in a beauty pageant before the King of

Persia and his court. Declared the winner over a multitude of

harem-hopefuls, Esther took her place as queen of the realm. She was

then in position to foil the plot of the villainous Haman and save

her people from genocide.

You might imagine, then, that I would write with a bias toward the

salutary effects of such pageants. But I am repelled by our

appearance-obsessed culture that imparts the message that “you are

how you look.” Numerous television programs tout the marvels of

surgical enhancement, which, while a blessing for some, is a tyranny

for others.

What have we come to when we read of a young woman who won the

first Miss Artificial Beauty competition?

In all this, we have forgotten the blessings of that old-fashioned

virtue -- modesty. Proverbs 31 teaches that “charm is deceptive and

beauty short-lived, but a God-revering woman is much to be praised.”

In their flaunting and exposing themselves, pageant contestants have

heard the siren song whose lyrics equate physicality with worth,

backed by the drum beat of superficiality.

Reducing women to show ponies who strut and prance and are awarded

points for pulchritude illustrates the commoditization of beauty in

our culture. The stereotypical mold into which participants are cast

testifies to the oppression of beauty standards and the unrealistic

demands our culture puts on young women to be beautiful at all cost.

Affording men the opportunity to ogle without fear of rejection is

hardly a worthy ideal. While I do not believe beauty pageants portend

the decline and fall of civilization, they manifest the coarsening of

society.

In an era when Time Magazine recently reported that 80% of all

children have been on a diet by the time they reach the fourth grade,

and a Graessar Report revealed that 50% of all females between the

age of 18-25 would prefer “to be run over by a truck than be fat,”

the yearning to be thin is pandemic. Thin is equated with attractive

in our visual society.

The ancient truth of the Biblical Ecclesiastes is a fact of our

day: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity ... “ Lasting beauty, though,

can only come from the inside. We all are in need of makeovers, but

not the kind one can brush on, diet off or attain under anesthesia.

The goal of the transformation is not to win points from human judges

but to be pleasing in the sight of God.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

Beauty pageants are like disco music -- not very popular with the

masses. I tend to favor the view that such pageants are out of step

with today’s attitudes about and toward women. The message these

events broadcast are narrow and patronizing, especially when applied

to a religion like Islam.

My suggestion would be to create pageants that honor the efforts

of those who serve and assist their communities. These are the real

beauties of the world, and it would help all of us to learn about the

commitment and dedication required for such self-less service.

Service is one of the highest forms of spiritual behavior and should

be encouraged and promoted whenever and wherever possible.

In the philosophy of “Science of Mind,” beauty is considered a

spiritual principle that defines behavior, thought and deed. It is a

way of thinking that changes lives. No need to wait any longer. Why

not reward the beauties of your life who serve and selflessly give of

themselves so you can enjoy yourself? Why not recognize the value

that each person lends to your existence? Why not write them a

personal note to thank them for being so beautiful? I recall

something Wayne Dyer wrote in his most recent book, “The Power of

Intention”: “Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful soul.”

SENIOR PASTOR JIM TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesa

It is odd to ask a man if it is demeaning for women to participate

in such contests. I could give a politically correct answer, but I am

not sure it would be accurate. In my own experience, before coming to

this congregation, I worked in a gym and participated in regional

fitness contests. For the record, I didn’t do it in a Speedo. I did

not feel demeaned by the contest. Nor do I think anyone felt

demeaned. The contests were about competition, accomplishment and

discipline of my body. To this day, a barometer of my spiritual

health is how I am doing in the disciplines of physical health,

eating and training.

The only time I ever felt demeaned was when I was asked to wear

something I was uncomfortable in. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wear

it. Anyone who feels the only way to find affirmation of their worth

or to make money is by doing certain activities that they would feel

uncomfortable doing otherwise is being demeaned. Some women or men in

these contests may be feeling that winning by being humiliated

publicly is the only way to find value and purpose in life. That

would be demeaning. If, however, someone can use the contest as a

means of personal accomplishment, then it would not be.

Some of these contests are definitely demeaning, but so are many

of the reality shows. I would never forage in excrement to try to win

a contest, but I would race someone around the world. It is difficult

to generalize about the pageants. Another question to ask is do the

contests make others feel degraded. There are members of the Islamic

community who find it demeaning to see their women participate. In a

free society, they have the right to protest, but not forbid the

pageants. Unfortunately, that does not go over well with some in

certain communities. In the last four months, Germany’s Der Spiegel

Newspaper reports six Muslim women have become victims of honor

killings. These women tried to live outside the norms of their

culture, but the shame it brought to their families forced their

relatives to find it necessary to murder them. Though I applaud the

women of Pakistan for celebrating their womanhood, I also pray for

their safety.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RICK OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa

The last time I watched a beauty pageant was as a teenager in the

late ‘60s. It was a family event -- the six of us gathered along with

millions of other families to cheer on our state representative and

to truly enjoy an exciting evening of entertainment. We drank root

beer floats and stayed up past our bedtime to see the swimsuit

competition and the talent portion of the contest and to hear the

finale: “There she is ... Miss America.” I remember it was during

those same years that the dress code at my high school in Virginia

was being challenged. At that time, girls couldn’t wear pants, only

knee-length skirts. My point is that during those early years of

beauty pageant history, many people found the contests to be fun,

entertaining, relevant and even a little risque.

It has been more than 30 years now since I have watched a pageant.

Like so many others I no longer think beauty contests are fun or

relevant. Just last year ABC announced it would not continue to

televise the Miss America Pageant, and although Donald Trump is

trying to revamp the competition (one modification is by scratching

the talent portion of the contest), the pageant, like many Trump

white elephants, may just die a slow quiet death.

I don’t think beauty pageants in themselves are particularly

demeaning. There are many more grave problems of worldwide concern to

women that demand immediate attention, such as domestic violence,

lack of education and unequal political representation. I believe the

serious issues being debated around the Miss Canada Pakistan pageant

are: Who will decide what women can or cannot do, and what is the

punishment for dissent? Who will forge the direction of Islam in the

21st Century? Will it be those who want to dictate morality and

punish those who disobey, or will those who lift up the rich wisdom

tradition of Islam prevail?

Islam is not the only religion that is struggling with the debate

between fundamentalism and tolerance. And it is often the issue of

sex and the role of women that brings out the most virulent of

responses. Personally, I cringe when I hear religious leaders define

what is sexually proper. I am also put off by male clergy dictating

women’s behavior within the family and social arena.

In the Zen tradition, the focus in morality and social obligation

is always on developing the skills of awareness, primarily through

meditation, so that each person can best respond to the issue at

hand. Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen, who brought Buddhism from

India to China in the 6th Century, said “no reliance on words or

letters.” In fact, we cannot rely on past conclusions to address

situations today. Transformative responses are forged out of deep

listening in the present moment, which is always new. It is not

through holding on to our favorite ideas and demanding that others

adhere to them that the world will be sustainable and be a place

where the human family along with all beings can live harmoniously

together.

REV. CAROL AGUILAR

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa