Mums cannot compete in Miss England!

[Monkeymummy1]

uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/furious-model-told-she-can-t-compete-in-miss-england-pageant-because-she-s-a-mother-113709517.html

Am I missing something here? This seems totally discriminatory! Surely it's her choice as a mother whether she can make the required commitment to the role, as it would be in any other job or profession she might decide to pursue.

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

Miss England exists?

Fuck me.

Nice to see feminism is alive and well.

[Monkeymummy1]

I know very little about pageant culture. Perhaps this is just one of many many things about it that would make me angry! But for me, it's about choice. I wouldn't choose to compete in something like this, it's not my interest, but if it was my interest, I shouldn't be turned away because I'm a mother. If that happened at work there would be a riot. (on the other hand, work is not allowed to judge me on the way I look either, but I still think there is a point here somewhere...)

[AnguaResurgam]

They've never allowed mothers (and IIRC married women) to compete.

And that is not all that is wrong with them.

[prh47bridge]

The girl in this story is being unreasonable. When she entered she was required to state that she agreed to abide by the rules displayed on their website. Rule 1 states that contestants must not have married or given birth. She either didn't bother to read the rules she was signing up to or thought they shouldn't apply to her (or possibly signed up with the objective of getting thrown out so she could generate some publicity to further her modelling career). She has now entered Miss Great Britain (which also still exists and, unlike Miss England, accepts contestants who are married and have given birth).

I note that the organisers of Miss England also run a Mr England competition. Not that I'm defending any of these competitions.

[Monkeymummy1]

Ha! I wonder if Mr England is allowed to have kids?

[sezamcgregor]

You need to go for Mrs World instead

[TurquoiseDress]

Female Crufts!

[AMumInScotland]

Meh. Discriminatory and misogynist competition turns out to be discriminatory. Quelle surprise!

[HibiscusIsland]

I think the organiser has a point actually. If a dad was full time/primary carer to his child and then buggered off around the globe for a year, I think that would be unfair on the child too.

[Bluebelljumpsoverthemoon]

Mothers have lifestyles that are exceptionally unappealing and tedious to the child free unless they have round the clock nannies and never see their kids. Miss World is silly like all beauty pageants but they're selling an image and it's not sleepless nights, nappy changes, play dates in the park and theatre trips to see barney live.

They're searching for attractive young women. In their early twenties most women are travelling, collecting their degrees, starting their careers, partying and enjoying their youth. There's nothing remotely interesting or appealing about someone who has so little ambition and curiousity for experience that they neglect to achieve any of that in favour of early breeding, as a result they are no competition to their peers.

They discriminate against mothers for the same reason they discriminate against the facially unfortunate, learning disabled, proudly hairy, mentally ill, dwarves and the clinically obese. They don't fit the package that the organisers are looking for. Discrimination against mothers isn't any worse than discrimination against any of the above.

[Sorelip]

I find that monumentally rude to young mothers Bluebell.

Not sure where I stand on the pageant issue. I find them quite sad.

[Bluebelljumpsoverthemoon]

It's not rude, it's a fact. Young people aren't fascinated by mothers and their kids. Young women don't see them as social or sexual competition. Young men don't see them as potential partners. It's not an insult, it's reality. If young women want to be attractive to their peers, they need to be building their careers while doing interesting things and having fun.

[Sorelip]

It's the "so little ambition and curiosity for experience..." I find most objectionable. There is room for ambition, curiosity and having children in a young woman's life.

[StrawberryMouse]

Tosh! My husband and I "bred" fairly early (I was 24) and still did all of that. And our lives aren't over now we have children either, we are still travelling, still advancing our careers. Having a child is just part of your life, not the end of it. That's such a sad view of motherhood.

[Slh122]

Guess I have no ambition then, bluebell, as my contraception failed at 18 and I now have a gorgeous 6 month old at the age of 19.

[AMumInScotland]

Both Bluebell and the pageant organisers seem to have bought into a very narrow definition of female 'attractiveness' where the only things that are seen as 'valuable' are things which negate a huge part of female experience.

What they seem to be looking for are girls rather than women, because that is what appeals to the kind of male fantasy that propagates these 'competitions'.

It's simple misogyny. Annoying when peddled by men. Just sad when bought into by women.