Miss Whitstable 'contest' open to boys

[Dog1981]

www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/boys-to-enter-search-for-towns-queen-for-first-time-181280/

I'd much rather they just did away with the contest.

Yet article I read said that the context was open to boys because there hadn't been enough interest from girls. Go girls, I say!

Not one girl entered which I find extremely encouraging.

They are welcome to it.

Perhaps we should leave the ridiculous, over-the-top, femme stuff to the men. They seem to like it - they can wear the high heels, skin destroying heavy make up and do the simpering act.

Maybe, the more men who do this the more it will show that playing femme is not "Woman" and then it will have the knock-on effect of men not seeing this as sexual, as other men do it, too. Then over-the-top femme performane will die out and become as old fashioned as crinoline lace and boned corsets with full victoriana skirts.

yep, if someone wants to sit in a float in an 80's bridesmaid dress waving wanly at the crowd, I am perfectly happy for that person to be male.

not gonna die on a hill for this one!

I don't think that in this case boys means trans identifying boys. I think we should be careful not to pounce on every story. To me, the great thing is girls rejecting the princess thing.

Good! The idea of replacing the 'princesses' (with all that implies) with 'young ambassadors' of either sex is entirely reasonable.

Wonderful - either this ends up with boys being able to dress up how they want or the contest to find a "queen" takes on an entirely new meaning.

This seems pretty progressive to me (if you have to have contests like this at all)

oh right, so the name miss whitstable has gone too?

even better. This is a great development.

Talking about being overly femme...we've been watching old 1950's movies and I guess these guys have been too...the perfect hair, make up, hourglass figures, skirts and dresses, heels, bras so pointy that they could take someone's eye out, the woman's role being just to scream and get slapped.

I spat my cider out a couple of years ago whilst watching our town's carnival parade for the first time (we had missed it for years since moving due to an annual family event)... as well as a huge number of little floats from local villages/towns with their 'successful' carnival queens /Miss 'Village', there were also 10+ cars with their daughter/a girl in bridesmaid-type dress and tiara on display in the boot, with it open! The people who were around me and who had seen all this before were initially surprised by my reaction. They did though, once they stepped back, reconsider it.
I remember at about 10 (early 1980's) rejecting the sexism/stereotyping of our village's Carnival Queen 'competition'... seemed bloody obvious to me then!

Brilliant!

I'll add that interspersed with some great community floats, there are lots of lorries all shined up and on display, honking their horns....

“If boys are willing to do it, they will have to conform with our rules and regulations. We can’t have people running around all over the place and misbehaving. Not when they’re representing the town.”

We have carnival queens and princesses where we live. Every year there are fewer entrants, but that goes with the general dropping of involvement of 'community' and correlates with fewer carnival floats etc.

I know quite a few girls who have been princesses, and it isn't a 'beauty' thing, it is about representing the town at other carnivals, and representing the carnival at other events. e.g. One did a welcome at the Christmas lights switch on. They have all really enjoyed their year of princessing.

I think it is nice to open this up to boys too.

Good! The idea of replacing the 'princesses' (with all that implies) with 'young ambassadors' of either sex is entirely reasonable
Hear hear