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Miss Universe: the political turmoil beneath the spray tan

Miss Lebanon

by Jessica Trisko Darden
http://www.theguardian.com/


Pageants, despite the contestants’ rhetoric about world peace, are actually fraught with international conflict – as the latest Miss Universe controversy shows. Being a political scientist and a former international beauty queen, I know that in pageantry, as in politics, nothing is what it seems. Beneath the layers of deftly applied make-up and spray tan, international pageants are as wrought with political turmoil as any high-profile diplomatic event.

Take, for instance, the latest conflict in the Middle East. A selfie taken by the Israeli contestant at the Miss Universe pageant in Miami has divided observers: those who believe that Miss Israel photobombed Miss Lebanon, and those who are convinced that Miss Lebanon appeared willingly in the selfie. This recent controversy barely scratches the surface of the depth of global politics at work in such international competitions.

Believe it or not, these are political events. Akin to an annual summit of world leaders, beauty queens cum diplomats represent their countries on the world stage. They must embody their culture through the national costume competition, answer questions from an international press corps, and all the while look fabulous in a bikini. The political significance of pageants isn’t trivial. They have served as flashpoints for devastating political violence. A boycott of the 2002 Miss World pageant was launched by contestants in response to human rights violations, including a death sentence for a single mother, in the host country Nigeria. In the end, the pageant was disrupted by riots and relocated to London. More than 100 Nigerians died.

Pageants have also been used to bring attention to important issues ranging from women’s education to domestic violence and injuries from landmines. They have been lauded for elevating women from ethnic minorities to national prominence.Miss Earth, the pageant that I won, is dedicated to bringing attention to environmental degradation and fighting climate change.

As the selfie incident makes clear, pageants take place in a broader international context. I criticised last year’s Miss Universe competition in Russia for excluding countries that Russia doesn’t recognise, and for failing to include African contestants in official press events. An American host also pulled out of the event in protest against Russia’s anti-gay legislation. While these issues were specific to Russia, the pageant served to bring them to the world stage.

Contestants also serve as the public face for many small countries. For countries that don’t hold a meaningful place at international bargaining tables, events such as Miss Universe allow them to project an image to the global public. Typically, this is about attracting tourism – but it can have greater salience. For countries such as Israel or Kosovo, fielding a Miss in an international pageant serves to reinforce a contested statehood. For example, controversy erupted in Serbia in 2011 after Miss Serbia posed for a photo with Miss Kosovo.

Miss Universe is no stranger to the tension that pervades daily life in the Middle East. The 2006 Miss Universe competition aired in the middle of the July war – the second Lebanon war – during which the Israeli attempt to eradicate Hezbollah led to 34 days of air strikes on Lebanese territory and resulted in at least 1,109 Lebanese and 160 Israeli deaths. The latter included 43 Israeli civilians and 12 soldiers killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel.

The stress of the 2006 conflict was visible in both Miss Lebanon and Miss Israel. International media reports suggested that they bonded over a shared concern for their loved ones. However, subsequent interviews suggested that this was largely media speculation. After all, in 1993 attempts at individual-level reconciliation led to a Miss Lebanon being stripped of her title for fraternising with a Miss Israel. Events such as Miss Universe, and the international controversies that surround them, give a human face to the complex nature of global politics. If pageants are about world peace, then that peace is rooted in how two women, from countries often at war, relate to one another.

In the case of Lebanon, the idea that a single person could represent the diversity of the country is a way of publicly projecting the best aspirations of Lebanon’s democracy. The country remains deeply divided along ethnic lines. Symbols such as Miss Lebanon help sustain the fragile ethno-political balance of the country. Pageants may not directly affect diplomatic relations, but they do show just how hard it can be for individuals to escape the constraints of their political context.

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Source: http://www.nydailynews.com

 

Miss Universe Contestants showcase their enviable bodies in the world-famous swimwear show in Miami

By BIANCA LONDON FOR MAILONLINE

Aside from the glittering dresses and charitable pledges, the swimwear round of Miss Universe is one of the most famous and anticipated. And the glossy-haired contestants, who have been working hard in the gym, didn't disappoint as they showcased their toned figures in Miami on Wednesday.

Nearly 90 of the world’s most beautiful women descended on Miami on the Trump National Doral hotel to participate in the Yamamay Swimsuit Runway Show and splashed around in the pool while showcasing their favourite bikinis.

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Miss Minnesota, Teen Minnesota USA crowned

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The 2015 Miss Minnesota USA and Miss Minnesota Teen USA winners were crowned Sunday night.

A panel of judges selected Jessica Scheu of Prior Lake as Miss Minnesota USA, and Hayden Hammond of Maple Grove as Miss Teen Minnesota. A capacity crowd filled the theater at the Ames Center in Burnsville for the finals. The annual competition consists of three categories in which they are judged: Evening gown, swimwear, and an interview. Eligible young women must be between the ages of 14 and 26 and be unmarried residents of Minnesota in order to compete in the pageant. Both Scheu and Hammond will now advance and compete next year at the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA national pageants.

Miss Vermont USA & Miss Vermont Teen USA are Crowned

BURLINGTON, Vt. - We have our winners!

Judged by a panel, including our own Brittney Hibbs, two young ladies have been crowned. Jackie Croft took Miss Vermont USA and Alexandra Marek took Miss Vermont Teen USA. The ladies competed on Sunday in the finals. They were judged on evening gowns, interviews, and swimsuits.
The judges narrowed down the Top 5, and then voted for the two winners. "I've worked so hard for this, years and years of preparation and hard work has gone into this," said Jackie Croft, Miss Vermont USA. "I've been training for this for so long, I can't believe it came to life, it's so amazing," said Alexandra Marek, Miss Vermont Teen USA.

Watch Local 22 and Local 44 News Monday morning. Both Jackie and Alexandra will be live on the shows to talk with Brittney Hibbs and Mike Curkov about their wins.

Miss Honduras Murdered Before Departure to Miss World

Source: CNN

Search for motive in beauty queen death (CNN) -- A Honduran beauty queen and her sister were found dead Wednesday, police said, and the sister's boyfriend and another man have been arrested. The bodies of María José Alvarado Muñoz, the reigning Miss World Honduras, and her sister, Sofia Trinidad Alvarado, were found buried in a shallow grave in a mountainous area beside a river, Honduran authorities told CNN affiliate Televicentro.

The bodies of the sisters, who had been missing for several days, were found on top of each other, Santa Barbara Mayor Juan Alvarado told the outlet. Plutarco Antonio Ruiz Rodriguez and Aris Valentin Maldonado Mejia are now in police custody, and investigators believe more people are involved in the sisters' deaths, Police Deputy Commissioner Rolando Casco Torres told Televicentro. Ruiz was Sofia's boyfriend, police say, according to CNN en Español.

The sisters disappeared Thursday night after going to a spa for a birthday party for Ruiz in Santa Barbara, northwest of the capital of Tegucigalpa, police told CNN en Español. Ruiz is suspected of killing the two sisters, said Leandro Osorio, chief of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Ruiz also "is considered the person who was most in contact" with the victims, Casco added, according to Televicentro. Edgardo Casana, a congressman from Santa Barbara, said the two women, their other sister and Ruiz were all students of his when they were younger. In fact, Casana, a teacher, said he knew the three sisters' family well, and that Ruiz was also in a youth soccer league with Casana's children, he said. "I'm dismayed by what happened," Casana told the CNN affiliate.

As a boy in Casana's class and in the soccer league, Ruiz was temperamental but also quiet, humble and gentle, Casana said. Ruiz's nickname was Paco, the official said. In fact, Casana just saw Ruiz on Monday in Santa Barbara, the congressman said. "We talked about soccer," Casana said.

Alvarado, 19, was supposed to leave for London soon to participate in the Miss World pageant, police said. Their family reported the women's disappearance on Saturday. Their mother, Teresa Muñoz, initially believed her two daughters were kidnapped. Eduardo Zablah, director of the pageant in Honduras, told Televicentro that Alvarado and her sister were last seen getting into a vehicle after attending a party last week. The young woman was to be among the contestants from more than 120 countries who arrive in London this week for early rounds of the Miss World pageant. The final round is scheduled for December 14.

A student from Santa Barbara, Honduras, Alvarado beat 18 contestants to win the Miss World Honduras crown in April. In her profile on the pageant's website, she described herself as "dedicated" and said she would someday like to go into government, specifically as a diplomat for her country. She also said that she liked playing volleyball and soccer, eating Honduran food and performing the country's traditional punta dance. Julia Morley, the chairman of the Miss World pageant, said contestants will hold a special service Sunday to honor Alvarado and her sister and offer prayers for their families. "We are devastated by this terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life," Morley said. Honduras has the world's highest murder rate, the United Nations reported earlier this year, with 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2012.

Miss Honduras, Maria Jose Alvarado, Found Dead

María José Alvarado, 19, recently crowned Miss Honduras, as well as her sister, Sofía Trinidad Alvarado Muñoz, have been found dead, according to reports from the Associated Press and BBC. The young women went missing on Nov. 13, days before Alvarado was set to fly to London for the Miss World contest.

On Tuesday police said they had detained two men, including the boyfriend of Alvarado's sister, and were questioning them on the young women's disappearance. The sisters had last been seen leaving a party in a car without a license plate.

Honduras is the murder capital of the world, with a homicide rate of 90.4 people per 100,000, according to an April U.N. report, almost double the rate of Venezuela, which ranks second with 53.7 per 100,000.

Miss USA 2013 Wants to Help You Learn to Code

BY ZOE HENRY

What's next for media starlet, Miss USA 2013? Contrary to popular belief, she won't be heading for Hollywood. Rather, she's tackling the gender discrepancy in math and science.

The national pageant winner, along with the founder of LearnToProgram Media, Mark Lassoff, just launched a Kickstarter campaign yesterday to raise money for their upcoming web series. Dubbed Code Café, the webinar will feature Erin Brady learning how to code right along with viewers, in 9 episodes spanning two separate seasons. Lassoff and Brady hope to raise a total of $15,000 in crowdfunding, which will go towards production, editing, media costs and equipment. The series itself will be free of charge, thus attracting both individuals and schools.

"Over the course of my year as Miss USA, I had the opportunity to meet impactful women in the STEM industries," says Brady. This, she adds, alerted her to some pretty harsh realities: While 74 percent of girls in middle school express interest in pursuing STEM, less than 1 percent of high school girls opt to major in computer science in college. Only 14 percent of all engineers worldwide are women, and in the U.S., women are estimated to make just 77 centsfor every male dollar earned.

Incidentally, studies show that many of the women who do pursue jobs in the tech world end up leaving for other fields. Generally speaking, it's not for lack of interest: Rampant sexism, which translates into an unsupportive work environment, is one commonly cited factor. And it's not just women getting the short end of the stick: Many argue that the field itself suffers from the gender imbalance. "When you limit yourself to half of the population...we lose some of the best and the brightest," Lassoff told Inc. The best way to tackle the issue, he says, is to get women interested in coding early. After all, coding has become a big part of "modern literacy...[It's the] sheer power to crunch numbers and solve really big problems." Indeed, everyone from politicians to NBA stars to venture capitalists seem to agree that coding is the one, sure-fire career booster in almost any industry. And with Miss USA at this project's helm, Lassoff hopes to attract plenty of young female talent.

Code Café isn't the only initiative aiming to make Tech more egalitarian--just look at startups like GoldieBlox, a toymaker that gets girls interested in engineering. The company landed a SuperBowl commercial earlier this year, and also won the "Educational Toy of the Year" award for a product that helps girls build belt-drive machines. Such projects suggest that an uptick for women in STEM may certainly be in our future. But if the persistent pay gap--and high-profile sexist work conditions--are any indication, society still has a long way to go if we want to get them (and keep them) there.