May 20, 2016

The problem of winning the Miss Universe pageant and then gaining a lot of weight.

What was Donald Trump supposed to do about that? He owned the business, and she had claimed — and beat out other women for — the job of acting as if she's the most beautiful woman in the universe, and then she radically changed her appearance.
In an interview with Jim Moret that will air Thursday on Inside Edition, Alicia Machado said that months after winning the Miss Universe contest in 1996 as a 19-year-old Miss Venezuela, the billionaire ordered her to lose weight.

Trump publicly called Machado an “eating machine” in an interview with Howard Stern and, according the Times report, invited nearly 100 media outlets to watch her exercise in a gym.

“She weighed 118 pounds or 117 pounds and she went to 160 or 170. So this is somebody that likes to eat,” Trump said then....
“He called me Miss Piggy,” Machado tells Inside Edition. “I was very depressed in that moment.”
Wasn't she obligated to control her weight according to the terms of employment? If you can't do the job, don't apply for it. No one has to enter a beauty pageant. I think it's a foolish business, but if you participate in foolishness, you owe something to those who gave you that platform. It takes some psychological grit. If you're sensitive about what people say about how you look, what are you doing there?

This is another example of anti-Trump media purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection. It seems to me that Trump was treating her the way he'd treat a man — holding her to her obligations and razzing her for her foibles. 

100 comments:

Hagar said...

For what the not-gentry Democrats think of women, see the Daily Mail web site.

MAJMike said...

Seem legit.

chickelit said...

Poor Marlon Brando suffered the same sort of opprobrium when he showed up late and overweight for the shooting of "Apocalypse Now." I forget who led the charge of insults then. Watching Brando wolf down cookies on "The Tonight Show" did not enhance his image. My point is that when you're in the public eye, the public perceives.

MadisonMan said...

Why aren't there before/after pictures? Pictures when she won, pictures months later after she had gained weight?

I can guess why the pictures aren't there: It lends credence to Trump's claim.

I agree, by the way, that he treats women in the same way that he treats men.

MadisonMan said...

@chickelit, I'd guess the charge of insults was led by Joan Rivers.

Michael K said...

"Trump was treating her the way he'd treat a man"

That cannot be allowed ! Women are fragile creatures as colleges all over are demonstrating. Safe places are needed and right now !

Joe Veenstra said...

I'm pretty sure the media reports on anything that garners clicks. If Ralph Nader owned a beauty pageant and criticized the winner for her poor diet it would result in a story.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Andrea Mitchell can lie about anything and call it "news", but God forbid Trump say "miss piggy".

Ann Althouse said...

You know, Miss Piggy is a rather beloved pop culture character. It's not like he called her Jabba the Hutt.

Laslo Spatula said...

Girl with the Pony Tail on the Treadmill:

I had that dream again. It's always the same.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I skip the gym, just once, get a mocha and go home.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

When I wake up I'm, like, sixty pounds overweight.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

FAT fat.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I go to work and all the fat girls in the Office giggle and point at me.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I'm one of Them, now.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

"It was just a matter of time until you joined us," they say.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

"I'm NOT fat," I scream inside my head. "This is all some mistake."

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Then I look in the mirror and see a beached whale. I'm pale blubber. And pimples. I am a pale blob with pimples.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Goodbye, flat stomach. Goodbye, toned ass.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Goodbye, thigh gap.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Then I wake up. Flat stomach, Thank God.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I worked too hard for this ass to just give it up.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I'm going to wear extra-tight clothes to work tomorrow.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Teach the fat girls a lesson.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Like they had the right to laugh at me.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Definitely no mocha tonight.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)


I am Laslo.

rhhardin said...

Beauty pageants are watched by women, not men.

Chris N said...

The way to champion women is to champion Left Of Center causes in political/legal/institutional/media settings.

Ain't nobody got time for actual women/people.

SGT Ted said...

This is another example of anti-Trump media purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection. It seems to me that Trump was treating her the way he'd treat a man — holding her to her obligations and razzing her for her foibles.

I agree. This is the this problem with the post-modern feminist movement. They claim to be all tough and strong, but when someone says something they don't like, they act like 5 year olds.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Trump strikes me as a man who knows the value of all of his assets to the penny, and is probably pretty good at guessing the value of other peoples' assets.

Sebastian said...

"This is another example of anti-Trump media purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection." Standard feminist operating procedure for the last half century: claiming that women are equal etc. then whining about being treated equally. The issue is not equality but reversing the old hierarchy: valuing the specialness of women.

"It seems to me that Trump was treating her the way he'd treat a man" Very nice that is seems that way to you, but also beside the point in the actual politics of these issues. Men shall not treat women the way they treat men.

Henry said...

Reminds me of Pablo Sandoval. But interestingly, in professional sports, team management will almost never criticize players and will go to great lengths to cover for their failures. Talk show hosts, columnists, and fans show no mercy, but management treats their underperforming athletes like they have the most fragile psyches in the world.

Todd said...

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Creates a nice mental image, good job Laslo. You are indeed a treasure.

She should be a recurring character. That format lends its self nicely to a variety of topics.

Limited blogger said...

I always thought it was weird that Trump bought/owned the Miss Universe pageant. Shouldn't that be controlled by the UN or something?

Known Unknown said...

LOSE WEIGHT QUICKLY! ASK ME HOW!

1-888-WE-R-ISIS

Known Unknown said...

She should be a recurring character.

She is.

madAsHell said...

Shouldn't that be controlled by the UN or something?

How do you judge a woman in a burka?.....and you couldn't print enough participation ribbons.

buwaya said...

Sebastian is right.
Ought is not is.
A lot of voters won't see the right of this because their worldview has baked in hypocrisy. As do we all really.
A pretty girl berated for breach of contract through overeating gets sympathy that an alcoholic plumber won't.
Stupid humans.
What saves some is a flexible mind that is open to argument.
You can't base a political campaign on that small minority though.

kjbe said...

If you're sensitive about what people say about how you look, what are you doing there?

Because you think you can do it. Come on, she had a solution, she stepped up. She developed anorexia and bulimia.

Birches said...

You know, Miss Piggy is a rather beloved pop culture character. It's not like he called her Jabba the Hutt.

That received a belly laugh this morning.

And yeah, this is pretty stupid, even for the War on Women cabal.

Rob said...

Today there are very few obese Venezuelans. Thanks, Trump!

Carol said...

I never watched The Apprentice, but if informed young people how they would be treated in the real world, he was doing them a favor. A yuge favor. Assumes a real, high functioning world with ambitious competition, no affirmative action, etc.

Unknown said...

Ok, I watched the Inside Edition segment (widely available on the Googles), and my takeaway is that anyone who doesn't think this will hurt Trump--a small nick, but they accumulate--might want to re-think. The video shows clips of Trump parading her in the gym. Alicia is cute as a button and not at all fat. I thought her claim that she only gained 15 pounds was probably a bit on the low side, until I saw the video. She's an adorable, bubbly 19-year-old girl. And he's a powerful, older man, treating her with such disrespect. Frankly, it's vile. And, here's the killer: cute, naive, Alicia reminds me a lot of my own daughter. THAT'S how a lot of people with daughters that age will see this thing. Sure, go ahead and criticize her for getting into the beauty biz (as a gorgeous Venezuelan teenager--ok, poor judgment, so what). Unlike some model-actresses, the evidence is that she can actually "act," at least a bit. Nude photos, a baby of dubious paternity, she's had the "career" that awaits a lot of pretty girls in show biz. And, she's peddling a book. Lots to criticize by people who enjoy their high horse, but she comes across as down to earth and likable.
I should add that if she had ballooned in a couple of months the way Trump alleges--gaining 50% of your body weight that quickly--it would have been an obvious health situation and Trump might have handled it differently. (She did gain more weight later in life--again, the Googles has the pics.). As it was, he got to show off and humiliate a cute young girl--win-win publicity for him.

buwaya said...

She developed a long career on TV and generally as a professional beauty. Miss Universe gave her a lucrative career. Look her up. She has been good about staying slim, so that was a lesson learned.

buwaya said...

Well, there you go Unknown.
Should it matter if she is "adorable"?
It does, we know.

robother said...

"What's the Matter With Women?"

Both parties have become adept at using shiny emotional triggering issues to motivate their bases, and distract them from the fact that the Party elites don't actually give a shit about their real lives at all. Indeed, most of these issues are the same: abortion, black inner city disfunction, gender.

Meanwhile, the "hollowing out" of the American middle class continues apace, thanks to massive immigration, global free trade and technology.

Beta Rube said...

I wonder how Eddie Lacy is taking all this.

Big Mike said...

This is another example of anti-Trump media purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection.

Are you just now getting it? Women, blacks, latinos, gays -- all are treated by the liberal establishment as being weak, fragile, and not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection. If you're finally working this out, then as far as the Democrat establishment and their media lapdogs are concerned, you're part of the problem.

buwaya said...

The difference between ought and is, or of the irrationalism and hypocrisy in differential sympathy applied to overweight 19 year old beauties vs 52 year old alcoholic plumbers, is one of the better critiques of the universal franchise.

Lewis Wetzel said...

If there really were a war on women, wouldn't more women be dead? Because guys are better with guns. They like to shoot things. Or maybe the women would all be blown up with atom bombs. I am pretty sure that no woman would have come up with the idea for an atom bomb. They don't like to explode things as much as guys do.
I suppose if you really wanted to find a war on women, you would look for a place where women get their heads chopped off or get acid thrown in their face by angry husbands and boyfriends.

buwaya said...

Big Mike,
It's not a matter of these groups being treated this way as the object of politics, it is that exploitation of irrational sentiments is the mechanism of politics.
Different irrational sentiments are used by different sides, or the same ones from different angles.

Fabi said...

Eddie Lacy does have a ponytail. Meta.

Titus said...

Her job as a beauty contestant winner was to stay thin and beautiful.

She failed. She only has herself to blame.

Laslo Spatula said...

A Letter from Miss Harriet Tubman, Kansas, 1954:

No, I am not THAT Harriet Tubman.

Everyone in Town is talking about Debbie Ann. Sweet young girl, she won the Miss Sweetheart competition at last year's Town Fair.

Then, over the last few months, she began to gain a lot of weight. She went from being a slender slip of a girl to a butterball, and everyone wondered what was going on: she was certainly too young to be that fat, you can't let yourself get that fat until you are older and have a Husband.

Well, it turns out she wasn't getting fat, she is pregnant. Miss Sweetheart of the Fair, unmarried and pregnant: of course the Town is in a dither.

No one knows who the Father is, but everyone has their own suspicions. We can only be sure it isn't Charlie Ross, because he lost his testicles in the war, bless his poor soul.

I was thinking about this, and the time she would've got pregnant was about the same time the Mexicans came to town.

It is horrible to even think about: if the baby comes out even looking half-Mexican there will be Trouble. No one wants to hang a new Father, but there are standards to be upheld.

I pray that the baby is born healthy and really, really white.

Sincerely,
Harriet.


I am Laslo.

buwaya said...

Mestizas like Miss Machado tend to be better looking than the average of the contributing populations, if the proportions are judged correctly. Hybrid vigor I think.
There's a good reason why Venezuela has produced so many beauty contest winners.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Terry,
"you would look for a place where women get their heads chopped off or get acid thrown in their face by angry husbands and boyfriends"

maybe in fairy tales!! As if some place like that exists today!!

khesanh0802 said...

I found an "after" picture but not being a Facebooker I can't post it. Google Miss U 1996 and look at images, you'll find her. She looks like a post pregnancy mid western girl in the photo. Ann's point is well taken. When she won she had an obligation to remain svelte for the year of her "reign". Many of the NFL players have weight target terms in their contracts; but they are just guys.

n.n said...

It's a job like any other. If she cannot meet the qualifications of the position, then the next women in line should be hired.

eric said...

The other day Trump was being self deprecating and saying he and Christie need to lay off the Oreo cookies. No more Oreo cookies.

The never Trump crowd took this as mocking Christie to his face.

The way you look at Trump depends on how you already feel about him. If you're a Hillary supporter or never Trump, this is the worst thing ever.

For the rest of us. Meh.

I Callahan said...

If Ralph Nader owned a beauty pageant and criticized the winner for her poor diet it would result in a story.

Maybe, but not on Politico. Nader isn't running for president this time.

exhelodrvr1 said...

And this is apparently worse than Rendell's comment?

Dude1394 said...

Anyone who get's their undies in a wad about this should watch the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader tryouts. That woman is merciless.

As you say, she was FAILING to do her job, and her employer told her exactly what her problem was, in no uncertain terms.

Ann Althouse said...

How about the way Michelle Obama has been calling us fat for the last 8 years?

knox said...

It's not like he called her Jabba the Hutt.

How dare you.

Ann Althouse said...

Not just one lady who voluntarily entered a pageant but all of our kids, kids who are compelled to attend school.

M Jordan said...

"So this is somebody that likes to eat,” Trump said." That was laugh out loud funny. And I say that as someone who seriously likes to eat.

There are some people in every group who have the ability to play near the fence, stick a big toe into the taboo forest, challenge the rules just so who get away with it and are even embraced for it. Others, lacking the deeper understanding of human nature, attempt similar actions and are placed in stocks.

Trump, of course, is the fence-player. He knows the limits, not just in the letter of the law but in the spirit of it. So he calls a young woman Miss Piggy. How dare he? Fat shamer! Misogynist! Vulgarian!

And we just laugh. Because we sense a lot more at play than just the violation of mores. We know that, yeah, she should've watched her weight during her reign. Yeah, he's trying to give her some tough love. And yeah, he's funny while doing it.

The left has become -- and maybe always were -- so puritanical in their political correctness that they have lost their spirits. They only know the rules, and the sub-rules, and the sub-sub-rules but not the game the rules are directing. Trump is a gamer and it's killing the left ... and they're nerdy wannabes on the right.

buwaya said...

That is one of the very few things Michelle Obama is right about. She was pushing an ineffective solution however.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I think Trump was pretty kind to her. Being Miss Universe is essentially an acting job. She won the addition, then put on 40-50 pounds.

He could have just claimed she was incapable of fulfilling her duties and crowned the first runner-up.

Mike Sylwester said...

Dude1394 at 10:07 AM

Anyone who get's their undies in a wad about this should watch the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader tryouts. That woman is merciless.

I had exactly the same thought.

This television series is broadcast on the CMT channel. It's a lot of fun to watch.

The woman who manages the Cowboys Cheerleaders is brutal on cheerleaders who gain any weight, although she herself is getting pudgy.

She fires cheerleaders just as mercilessly as Donald Trump fires his apprentices.

http://www.cmt.com/shows/dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders/

Ron Winkleheimer said...

won the audition, dammit.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The woman who manages the Cowboys Cheerleaders is brutal on cheerleaders who gain any weight, although she herself is getting pudgy.

Yeah, but she isn't out in the field performing. Her job is analogous to being a director. Nobody cares how fat Peter Jackson is, unless he decides to cast himself as Legolas.

Jim Hu said...

"Wasn't she obligated to control her weight according to the terms of employment?"

I mostly lurk but this prompted me to comment. I hope you follow up on this., using your expertise as a law prof. Cursory googling doesn't find a Miss Universe contract, but something signed by Carrie Prejean for the Miss California pageant is available (pdf). Skimming that, I mostly see "show up for appearances and don't pose nude". Prejean was fired by Trump for breach of contract in 2009; she's also another claiming that the NYT distorted her comments about Trump to make him look worse.

My questions: are there clauses about appearance in these contracts and what kinds of terms would be enforceable? Are the winners technically employees, or are the contracts written to avoid them being treated as employees (see p. 6 of the pdf, for example).

jr565 said...

Awww, he told her to tighten it up after gaining 60 pounds!

Ron Winkleheimer said...

She claims 15 (which is still a significant amount of weight to gain when you are Miss Universe) and Trump claims 40-50.

Lets say both are spinning the truth to their own advantage, so half way is she gained about 30 pounds.

That's a lot of weight. Actresses lose jobs over gaining way less than that.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

“For sure he is not a good person,” Machado said.

With good defined as not making her upset.

Todd said...

Yep, he is a real meanie! It isn't like any cares if a jockey puts on an extra 15 or 20 pounds, right? Its not like its their job to be "light", right?

Same thing here. Her job was to be pretty. She was still "face" pretty, am I right?

Mike Sylwester said...

Ron Winkleheimer at 10:23 AM

She won the addition, then put on 40-50 pounds.

I like the fortuitous addition more than audition.

William said...

There's something inherently comical about a Miss Universe who pigs out and becomes overweight. If you can't make fun of a chubby Miss Universe who can you make fun of........Anyway, from what I read here she's had a successful career so it's not like he drove her to suicide with his relentless bullying......None of this further publicity will hurt her career or her reputation. She should pack on a few more of pounds to solidify her reputation as the fat Miss Universe........With the exception Chris Chrystie, I can't think of any person in public life who's received more ridicule about his personal appearance than Donald Trump. He can ditch it out and he can take it.

William said...

If she plays her cards right, she could become bigger than Kirstie Alley.

Static Ping said...

I cannot disagree with Ann.

Robot Chicken's take on Miss Piggy:

The Fattest Fat Loser

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

If she's smart, she'll take advantage of the publicity and sign that Jenny Craig contract ASAP.

MaxedOutMama said...

Your take on it strikes me as correct - if beauty is your business, your diet is going to be restrictive.

Women have the right to choose to be models, glamour actresses, beauty champions, etc. They don't have the right to choose that and then demand that all the rules change. If the rules weren't there, the money wouldn't be there either.



Gahrie said...

This is another example of anti-Trump media purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection

Isn't this exactly what academic feminism's message is today?

Gahrie said...

isn't the whole "campus rape crisis" in fact : purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection?

mockturtle said...

isn't the whole "campus rape crisis" in fact : purporting to champion women but in fact treating them as if they are weak, fragile, not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection?

Yes.

donald said...

Michelle might wanna look in a mirror to be frank.

Comanche Voter said...

Jane Eaglen comes to mind (okay for those of you who might not know, she's an opera singer--a soprano).

Back around 2000 or so I saw her in a production of Turandot in San Diego. She was fairly young then, but was already packing on the pounds in the tradition of "it's not over until the fat lady sings." She was singing Princess Turandot alongside a tenor built in the Falstaffian tradition who played Prince Calif. As the opera comes to a close and Princess Turandot decides that she has fallen in love and Prince Calif can keep his head, the tenor wraps his arms around Turandot--and the lyric goes "My little flower of the dawn".

Well I'm watching Falstaff and Shamu try to wrap their arms around each other, and it's just not going to work The visual disconnect was just too much. An opera loving friend of mine told that I should have just shut my eyes and enjoyed the music.

Eaglen had a great voice--and probably a pretty good career in front of her if she had shed a few pounds. Well a few means probably at least 60 or 70 pounds.

A couple of years later she was scheduled for a role in Covent Garden in England. Note that leading opera singers typically sign contracts as much as two or three years in advance of when they will actually perform the role. When La Eaglen showed up at Covent Garden to rehearse she had absolutely no chance of fitting in the "little black dress" costume the director had in mind. She was fired---.

Now opera fans will cut some sopranos with glorious voices some slack. Anna Netrebko looked pretty doggone good in her younger days, rolling around under a sheet on stage without much on singing Romeo and Juliet at the LA opera. Ten years and a lot of cheese blintzes later, she's about 10 pounds past zaftig. The voice is still good.

But if you are Miss Universe, you are trading on your looks--and pretty much that is what people expect to see. Not much room there for a developing cookie monster.

Joe said...

It's surprisingly difficult to find verified before and after photos of Miss Machado. However there are a few photos with unverified dates which show a very chunky woman. Interestingly, by 2010 and Playboy, she'd dropped weight again and appears to have pretty much kept it off in the claimed +15 pound range.

Just read her Wikipedia entry; she sounds like a real "winner" (heavy sarcasm.)

Joe said...

PS. It's a little confusing as to whether the 2010 Playboy photos are from 2010 or from her 2006 Mexican Playboy shoot. How did she get away with the 2006 situation?

khesanh0802 said...

@comanche voter A wonderfully funny erudite comment!

Chuck said...

Lol, Althouse.

Does it even matter, what Donald Trump said during an appearance on the Howard Stern Show?

The simple fact that he appeared, regularly is so stupid, and crude, and low grade, and low class, is a disqualifier for the presidency.

David said...

" It seems to me that Trump was treating her the way he'd treat a man — holding her to her obligations and razzing her for her foibles. "

Precisely.

And if that's a picture of her after he put the pressure on her, she should be grateful for the results as well.

MayBee said...

I cannot wait to hear people who've spent years saying "Chris Christie is too fat to be president" get outraged over this.

David said...

The poor thing.

According to a recent issue of the magazine "People with Money" Machado was the highest paid asctess in the world last year at $90 million, and is estimated to have a net worth of $275 million based on her investments and earnings as an actress, promoter and entertainer in South America.

Apparently she still takes an occasional trek into large land but she has an antidote which seems to get her in skin showing shape whenever she needs to. She remains gorgeous, famous and rich.

"Thank you, Mr. Trump, for helping me to get my start."

Birches said...

Yeah, but she isn't out in the field performing. Her job is analogous to being a director. Nobody cares how fat Peter Jackson is, unless he decides to cast himself as Legolas.

Ha!

rcocean said...

She gets no sympathy from me. She was a young healthy woman. She's being paid to be "Miss Universe" and all she had to do was maintain her weight.

eric said...

Blogger Chuck said...
Lol, Althouse.

Does it even matter, what Donald Trump said during an appearance on the Howard Stern Show?

The simple fact that he appeared, regularly is so stupid, and crude, and low grade, and low class, is a disqualifier for the presidency


There's that word again. Disqualifier.

Does that mean you've changed your mind about voting for Trump, chuck?

Joe said...

"and low class"

Are you fucking kidding me? Only erudite sophisticates are qualified to be president?

Then again, thank god for the "high class" intellectuals who oversea the censorship, I mean, purity of our entertainment.

Todd said...

Joe said...

Then again, thank god for the "high class" intellectuals who oversea the censorship, I mean, purity of our entertainment.

5/20/16, 3:05 PM


And don't forget the "high class" intellectuals that run the government today and oversee all aspects of its efficient, cost effective, non-intrusive operations! Cause Lord only knows what a mess things would be if they were NOT in charge!

cubanbob said...

Chuck for the benefits of us rubes, who is the classy candidate for president this year?
So far the only ones I see are a Communist, a felonious traitor leftist and a buffoonish carnival barker. Of the three, the carni is the least objectionable, at least as I see it.

Achilles said...

What is the number 1 cause of divorce? Are we allowed to say it out loud now?

Telling men or women it is ok to get fat doesn't help anyone out.

Unknown said...

Hmm. She seems to be very popular in Latin America and among the US Hispanic community, too. She has been on Trump's case for quite some time, as well. I think the lede got buried here. It should be: "If Trump thinks Jorge Ramos is going to be a problem for him with Hispanic voters, he ain't seen nothing yet. The 'next Sophia Vergara,' as she has been called, is making bank on his calling her 'Miss Housekeeping,' which may get more attention than calling her "Miss Piggy.
http://www.univision.com/shows/al-punto/alicia-machado-donald-trump-marco-mi-vida-me-lastimo-video

walter said...

"Wasn't she obligated to control her weight according to the terms of employment?"

Good question. Did our genius business man get that into the contract?

walter said...

(Those Arepas don't eat themselves)

walter said...

If not in the contract, I think it's pretty funny that a pageant gal might proceed to expand upon securing the crown.
Would make a great summer flick. Bring in Adam Sandler somehow..Trump could play himself.

walter said...

"Does this crown make me look fat?"

walter said...

Achilles said... What is the number 1 cause of divorce?
---
Fat? But..we are told it's financial stress/friction...

Zach said...

Wasn't she obligated to control her weight according to the terms of employment? If you can't do the job, don't apply for it. No one has to enter a beauty pageant. I think it's a foolish business, but if you participate in foolishness, you owe something to those who gave you that platform. It takes some psychological grit. If you're sensitive about what people say about how you look, what are you doing there?

Here's a question for you -- what does a beauty pageant actually sell? What does it mean to the viewer?

Is it a sporting contest? Or is it a fairy tale fantasy of being chosen for your innate virtues? Or is it some mixture of the two?

I honestly don't know -- I'm a guy, so I never practiced the Miss America wave. Plenty of girls did, which makes me think that there's some element of the princess fantasy mixed in there.

If Miss Universe is just some modeling gig, then gaining 15 (50 is probably a Trumpian exaggeration) pounds is just bad faith. The job is to look like Miss Universe, and Machado didn't make a good faith effort to do that.

If Miss Universe is a role for women to fantasize about inhabiting, then gaining a lot of weight and facing a lot of pressure to lose it in a hurry sort of breaks the fantasy, doesn't it? There are probably a lot of women who know darn well they're too heavy to be Miss Universe, and don't appreciate being reminded of the harsh reality.

Zach said...

One thing that the whole "fat shaming" debate doesn't deal with is the idea that someone could deliberately seek to control their weight for the specific purpose of looking good or filling a role.

I have several friends who are ballerinas. Guess what? They're skinny. It's a tough job to get, and part of the job is fitting a physical profile.

It seems to me that calmly assessing the requirements for the role you want in life and then setting out to fulfill them is a good thing. Once upon a time people called that self actualization. Now it's like you're supposed to either hysterically deny that the requirements exist ("Nobody said I couldn't be 170 pounds!") or just give up on your goals ("I could win at 115, but my inner self is really 170, so I'll just be me!")

walter said...

Weight for the wedding..

Largo said...

Is it a duty of a gold medal gymnast to keep the weight off after the event?

lgv said...

"Is it a duty of a gold medal gymnast to keep the weight off after the event?"

It doesn't end with the event. It is a year long gig for which they are paid. They do not grab their crown and head home. If she went out and got arrested for smoking crack on the street, she would lose her gig.


Drago said...

Poor Chuck.

So much time and effort invested in creating his "lifelong republican" online persona which he then injudiciously cast away too soon before the election.

Perhaps a new "lifelong republican" will show up soon to take his place. There can be no question that the dems have allocated sufficient resources for just that purpose.

damikesc said...

I don't get the outrage. I ran valet parking at the Borgata when they first opened. We had cocktail waitresses. The women were told, in advance, everything. They were told of the "aesthetic" requirements and the weekly weigh-ins (mind you, their outfits would've failed spectacularly to remain on their bodies if they gained much weight at all). Some complained anyway.

If you're told about what the job entails in advance, bitching is pathetic.

Are you just now getting it? Women, blacks, latinos, gays -- all are treated by the liberal establishment as being weak, fragile, and not responsible for their own choices, and in need of protection.

If they didn't need protection, then the usefulness of the Dems would be limited. Can't have that,

Largo said...

"It doesn't end with the event."

Take care with pronouns without an antecedent referent! (Does mean 'it' -> 'the gig'?)
Yeah, the gig goes on, and that I agree that the existence of a gig is a major difference between winning a medal and winning the pageant. Now: does enrolling in and winning the pageant obligate her to things to which the gold medalist would not be obligated? (This is different from asking whether continued *access* to the gig requires ongoing conditions.)

Owen said...

Prof. Althouse: "Not just one lady who voluntarily entered a pageant but all of our kids, kids who are compelled to attend school." Quite so. Michelle Obama can hector all of us (collective slander is not actionable) and burn up taxpayer resources with her dream menu for school lunch, because she has no legal right to do so. Yes: even with a physique that would make a linebacker envious, she is weightlessly present in the cultural air, exerting a vast influence without any accountability.

But those who strike bargains to act in a show called Miss Universe, and then default simply because the fridge has beckoned too often and they lost their pass to the gym? Any attempt by their employer to salvage their performance --attempts that are done in the coarse vaudeville style which underlies a business like Miss Universe-- those are (1) misogynistic (2) fat-shaming (3) sexist (4) probably racist. Check all that apply.

Seriously? Your focus on contract analysis is very healthy here. It avoids the lard of concepts like institutional sexism.