The pageant industry
Editorial
Stabroek News
July 24, 2004
Between 1998 and now beauty pageants have burgeoned in Guyana to the extent that for some they have become almost unbearable. Only recently, a letter writer commented that there seemed to be one to cover almost every holiday and occasion, in addition to the national ones and recommended that they be outlawed. Recent events have revealed that apart from the very real rivalry among contestants, there is also friction in the committees that are intended to work behind the scenes to ensure that the entertainment, because that is what it is, they are providing is executed smoothly and with the utmost professionalism.
Nearly four years ago, when pageants had begun to blossom again in Guyana, this column had called for the establishment of some sort of regulatory body, such as a national pageant committee. Ideally, this should be a non-government body, or one in which government participation is limited to perhaps one member. This committee should include all pageant franchise holders, who would simply be regulating their own operations to ensure that the public gets only the best of what they have to offer. And as was said before, the timely handing over of prizes must be incorporated into whatever regulations are set up.
There is no shortage of delegates to enter pageants. Nearly every one is oversubscribed. Some young ladies enter pageant after pageant using the experience gained along the way to hopefully end up wearing the crown at some point. But apart from the nerves, shaking legs, cheers, boos, and the euphoria of being crowned queen, what do these contestants gain? In some instances, not even the lucrative prizes which were advertised to pull them into entering in the first place.
In other parts of the world, beauty pageants have propelled young women into modelling and acting careers. In fact, some pageants offer this as part of the prize. In the United States, the Miss America Pageant offers scholarships to its winners and is one of the most competitive in that country. Its entrants are for the most part university graduates who are hoping to win a grant to further their studies. These young ladies are required to have a talent in the arts-music, dance, song-which demonstrates that they are well-rounded students and the best choice for the educational grant.
Proper preparation for pageants is also desirable; not only by pageant holders, but by the would-be queens. Young ladies should decide this year that they are going to be Miss Whatever next year and work towards it. Starting a month or a week in advance is not an option. No amount of practice can prepare a person in such a short time. Rushed preparation makes for harried-looking beauties and a mediocre show, which does a disservice to the delegates as well as the audience.
Beauty pageant franchise holders worldwide have fought with women's rights groups for years over the holding of these shows and have tried, with some amount of success, to remove the 'cattle market' stigma attached to them. But when delegates and the audience are exploited through the holding of poorly-planned, tawdry shows, these successes seem meaningless.
While efforts have been made to raise the standards here, Guyana's pageants still need work. Pageants are a lucrative business, which is why there are so many of them. No one can afford to keep holding pageants year after year, if they kept losing money. But it is time for franchise holders to look beyond the dollar signs to the young ladies, who, in some instances they are exploiting to raise their profit margin. The competition need not be among the pageant directors. They need to realize that everyone can benefit, including the delegates, if they pull together and set standards.