london hosting miss World and the views on The wright stuff

i think that might be a nail on the head moment. encourage women into ridiculous, infantile 'choices' and then you have the proof that women are ridiculous, infantile creatures who are all about plastic boobs and pink sparkly things.

bleurgh.

I was surprised, the men seemed more against it than the women. The women who phoned in and the one in the audience did sound quite dim. One was trying to justify it being about more than ogling women in bikinis, 'it's more than ogling, it's about glamorous dresses and, and, and makeup and being pretty'. Was very funny.

(whispers) . . . and if we believe women CHOOSE those things that we CAN legitimately despise, well, then it's probably okay to despise those women as well, you know, for their despicable "choices."

Great post Krittiq

if I was seven slightly more cynical than my name suggests, I'd take your post one step further. Of course we've come too fr now to openly despise women - there's no such thing as misogyny any more, after all.
But it's a different thing to despise the THINGS associated with them, but not women themselves, dear me no.
So now just coax them all willingly into this rigid pink sparkly box, and then hold the box up for ridicule.

The box, you see. not women! As we know, there's no such thing as sexism any more
argh toddler

Glad I missed this, this morning.

WTF are we doing hosting this competition?

Noddy, I certainly didn't want to be a princess - either time I got married, ffs. I'm struggling to work out why my SIL seems to want to, but I know she is younger and faces lots of different family and peer/social pressures from what I did.

And, I think it's probably from that that many women nonplussed or seemingly supportive of things like this. Basically, they don't see how they can "beat it" so they "join it." Then, they have to invest alot in convincing themselves and others that they genuinely think it's benign or even a good idea, even when they inwardly feel crap about it.

I am loathe to post on this as the last time I got riled on a wedding dress thread re 'all girls want to be a princess' I got slaughtered! I think it is sad and backward to keep this shit going

yy KRITIQ

Sadly, it shows just how effectively the message that girls-want-to-be-princesses-their-main-purpose-is-to-look-beautiful has got through to mainstream ideas.

It's funny because waaaaaay back in the late 60's and early 70's when feminists first started to demonstrate outside beauty pageants and such, they also got the accusations of jealousy levelled against them. But, bit by bit, I think society in general started to question the message of beauty contests and they became less popular, or at least weren't bigged up in the same way I don't think. But, there seems to have been a resurgence (at least from my observations) of events, competitions, etc. focussing on women's appearance and fitting a narrow ideal of femininity - and this being seen as "acceptable." It's like the clock has gone backwards. I do think it coincides with the whole "princess lifestyle" marketing crap, as well as the mainstreaming of porn and images/behaviours from porn. How utterly depressing.

And, there is an added sinister element. Back at the time of 2nd wave feminism in the 60's and 70's, we either didn't have or it was relatively early days of legislation on gender equality and equal pay. There was still the assumption that women's choices were limited, but that was okay because that was the "natural order" of things.

Now though, we're constantly being sold this idea of "choice." Women are (allegedly) no longer constricted as before and they can choose whatever they want. If women are involved in beauty pageants, stripping, selling sex, whatever, it's because they freely CHOOSE to do that. If they don't occupy top management jobs, or seats in parliament or other positions of power and influence, it's because they CHOOSE not to. Who are feminists to tell other women what they should and shouldn't "choose" to do. No, don't confuse the issue about whether or not these are Hobson's choices or whether women are conditioned towards a narrow path where certain "choices" are pushed to the exclusion of others. No, no, they CHOOSE to do these things, so it's okay then.

And, of course they are aided and abetted by the pseudo scientists who tell us that women make these "choices" because that's just how the female brain works and all the moves towards equality have been wasted because women will still just do what comes "natural."

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!

What rubbish! I can't get a boyfriend because I am flat chested and have hairy legs. Nothing to do with being fat.