I think what Carlson meant was they're eliminating the part of the show where the contestants walk around in bikinis and high heels and the idea is to judge (or just admire) their bodies. They can't mean "outward appearance" more generally, can they? They can't switch to judging women by their insides! How would that be done? I know the contest always had a segment where the contestants were asked questions and had to show some intelligence, but a contest to see who has the most beautiful mind would not even be recognizable as a beauty pageant.
From the Bari Weiss colum:
The real reason the bikini contest was done away with is that it’s simply too explicit for our euphemistic era, where “strong” is the code word for skinny, and “healthy” for beautiful. Our culture hasn’t stopped objectifying women. We — men and women both — are just getting better at pretending it’s not happening.... Standing up on a stage in stilettos and tiny squares of nylon held up by string is just too gauche for 2018.Weiss gets onto the topic of all the things non-gauche women do for outward beauty. My favorite is: "We lie under fluorescent lights and hold our thighs open for strips of burning hot wax while we chat about the new season of 'The Handmaid’s Tale.'"
Weiss's conclusion: "I won’t miss the bikini contest a lick... But there was also something strangely honest about it."
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82 comments:
Our culture hasn’t stopped objectifying women.
ISTM we've added men to the objectification.
But.....what is the Miss America contest if it isn't about beauty? Why would it get more viewers than, say, the geography bee?
It celebrates women's attractiveness to men. That's why women watch it (and men don't).
Women's mind is represented by the new management. Ugly.
The new Queen and hirs(?) court, When PC thoroughly ruins everything version,
https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2014/10/000_Hkg10109760-e1506859911100-640×400.jpg
I suspect they did away with the swimsuit competition because it is unfair to the women who still have penises.
@rhhardin
Exactly right. The commercials aired during the Miss America contest were for hair and skin care products, not beer.
Beauty pageants have always been pandering to the shallowest part of men's nature. Hard-wired, but not the part we're proudest of. So fine, shut down Miss American, I'd have no problem. Never watched it AFAIK.
But pretend it's something other than what it is? Ridiculous. It will shut itself down soon, when no one watches it.
"the geography bee?" That's what they can do on it now.
The obvious solution is to replace the swimsuit competition with a death match in a cage.
With no swimsuit competition they’ll never get Bill Clinton to host it.
"..."We lie under fluorescent lights and hold our thighs open for strips of burning hot wax ..."
Weiss's conclusion: "I won’t miss the bikini contest a lick.
Hmmm.
-LWL
Now they'll be able to broadcast the Miss America contest solely on radio.
Perhaps they could replace the swimsuit competition with a yoga pants event. The girls could strike certain yoga poses which would enable the judges to evaluate their spiritual fitness. Some of those poses are conducive to judging a girl's inner beauty, especially when the yoga pants are worn with a tank top.
If I remember right, it was started in Atlantic City during the Depression to get tourists to come. So from the get-go it was a pretty trashy event.
I can't say I'll miss it considering I was never attracted to it in the first place, except to see which states made it into the semis.
Irony note: Google elected to serve next to this post a tall ad featuring a woman in a tiny bikini.
Two words: internet porn
Before, when men used to watch, it was a nudge wink at prurience and respectability.
Men who would not honorably read a playboy would watch Miss America.
Then Feminism and internet porn.
The contest offers nothing to men anymore. Morals have changed. Let's see if women can keep things going. I doubt it.
If Gretchen Carlson didn't win the Miss America contest (with a swimsuit competition!) then unlikely she wouldn't have been hired by Fox News. And Ailes probably wanted a notch on his belt with a former Miss America and that attempt, of course, resulted in her making millions.
I condemn in the strongest possible terms what Roger Ailes did, but this woman has made out like a bandit because she is a former Miss America. Hypocrite.
What's next? Burkas?
TV ratings tank. Miss USA goes to town on this stupid mistake.
Hilarious. Gretchen Carlson went for a Republican on Fox News whose parents' car dealership was closed by Obama's GM coup to a Social Justice Warrior after her Roger Ailes check cleared.
Wave goodby Gretchen.
For years the organizers insisted it wasn’t a beauty contest, it was a scholarship pageant – because they awarded scholarships. On this theory, if they had awarded an automobile, it would be a car show.
I think eliminating the swimsuit segment is a precursor to the first pre-op transgender contestant.
It's not a beauty pageant, it's a scholarship program.
They lost me when they got rid of Bert Parks.
who's going to watch a beauty contest with out swimsuits?
the exact same people that will watch Rosanne without Rosanne...
That is to say: Not Many
The judgements on 'outward appearances' (with a nod to augmentations and botox applications) are still more honest than having to consider the drivel that comes out of their mouths.
Instapundit suggests they be judged on catfish wrangling, which has a lot to recommend it. It seems a good enough test of character and fitness and is sufficiently American to suit the title, while lacking negative connotations of a political nature.
It may even make good television.
Objectifying women (or men) is simply human nature.
Sexual displays exist for excellent biological reasons.
We are still animals and that is as it should be.
Its very strange that in a culture that wants to elevate "science", science doesn't get a hearing.
And I don't get that "strong women" means thin, as commonly used.
Yesterday evening I heard several rather full figured women (at a non-political but in fact political) function praise the concept of "strong women".
Not meant as thin, in that context I think.
I was wondering how well they would do at catfish wrangling.
Hey, I watched that Instapundit video of the catfish wrangling. I showed it to my wife, who was utterly amazed by it.
I pointed out that, come the Carrington Event, I'll take the catfish wrangling gal over the Instagram model every time. She nodded; being a farm girl, she has the practical side of femininity that comes with owning a pair of boots that smell of manure.
“Women's mind is represented by the new management. Ugly.”
Imagine a herd of Dworkin clones poised onstage, celebrating their “enlightenment.”
Maybe some woman is more comfortable in a microbikini.
"Our culture hasn’t stopped objectifying women."
It's the real double standard: for women's bodies, being objectified suffices; men's bodies actually have to perform.
To be fair to the truly homely girls, and to truly judge them on their true inward beauty, they should be interviewed in combat fatigues with no makeup.
The end of Miss America. It will quickly become a contest of liberal hags who spout progressiveness. And that is the end.
Trannies are eligible, fat ugly progressives, older progressives, bitches for sure. But there will be no audience.
Bikini Contest Is Over
Does that mean they'll wear no Bikinis Atoll?
@Fernandistein: They nuked that too.
Blogger gilbar said...
who's going to watch a beauty contest with out swimsuits?
Interesting contest. Will they be Bikini waxed ?
I might even watch although I have never see the Miss America pageant.
"who's going to watch a beauty contest with out swimsuits?>
How many post adolescent males are going to watch it, regardless?
As Van Morrison sang, "... the girls go by dressed up for each other,"
So first Carlson destroyed FOX news with her feminist nonsense and now she is destroying the Miss America contest. It is understandable. She had to destroy both because they were responsible for her career. She could only trade on her looks and her willingness to perform sexual favors in order to have a career. She obviously didn't have the intellect or smarts to succeed without sucking an old mans dick. Now that she is on top she wants to pull up the ladder and stop other big breasted bimbos who can suck a golf ball through garden hose from becoming News bunnies.
Typical woman. Jealous feckless cunt.
Gretchen Carlson is the new head of the junior anti-sex league.
The real reason the bikini contest was done away with is that it’s simply too explicit for our euphemistic era...Standing up on a stage in stilettos and tiny squares of nylon held up by string is just too gauche for 2018.
This is Bari Weiss' way of explaining to her readers that, even though we don't believe in God or nuthin', we have somehow become every bit, if not more, of prudes than than our believin' grandparents. Hey, at least Grandpa & Grandma understood why a Beauty Contest would have a swimsuit competition!
I remember hearing the lectures growing up about how prudish Americans were compared to those wise Europeans, how we were so uptight with our religion. Now, the prudishness comes from the feminists, & no one talks about how wise those sexually liberated Europeans are anymore.
I'm staring to suspect that it was never about sexual freedom. It was all about having a stick to beat Christianity with.
They are going to have to hold the contest in burkas to get where they really want to go.
So long as women are willing to be marketed like meat, there will be beauty pageants. And some wonder why some women don't like other women.
Now, the prudishness comes from the feminists, & no one talks about how wise those sexually liberated Europeans are anymore.
It's not about prudishness. It's about self-respect.
As a healthy, red-blooded American male, I found the bikini contest a bit tacky and dated a good 30 years ago, and I'm frankly amazed it lasted as long as it did. The 'beauty' portion could easily have been replaced with an evening gown fashion show, with top designers competing to have their dresses used by the contestants.
Mostly, this news cycle makes me want to go back and rewatch "Miss Congeniality", one of Sandra Bullock's funniest and most endearing roles.
The end of Miss America. It will quickly become a contest of liberal hags who spout progressiveness. And that is the end.
Is there no place for the beautiful but modest woman in today's world? Has 'sexual freedom' really made the world a better place? Does a man want the future mother of his children to parade around on a stage wearing practically nothing? Women are increasingly de-valued in our society by both men and by women, themselves.
@bwebster,
As a healthy, red-blooded American male, I found the bikini contest a bit tacky and dated a good 30 years ago
The reason Miss America had a swimsuit competition is the same reason ancient Greek Olympians competed in the nude: it's the only way you know nobody's hiding anything under their clothes.
In the case of the ancient Greeks, it was weapons. In the case of beauty contestants, you get to see essentially what they look like naked, with no assisting "foundational undergarments" & revealing what they got from surgery rather than Mother Nature.
Let the contestants leave their clothes on & you've just given the contest over to human artifice vs nature.
First they get rid of the swimsuit contest.
Then they'll get rid of the "Miss"
Then they'll get ride of "America"
So, what is the point? A bunch of women being judged on what? By whom? Why?
The whole idea of women being judged on no specific criteria by people who are by definition unfit (how can they be fit judges when we can't say what they are judges of?) is offensive.
Just put the whole thing out of its misery, it lost any relevance a generation ago.
Gretchen Carlson is Ted Baxter with tits.
How she got to be in charge is a mystery.
No I take that back. Social Justice Warrior virtue signalling. Got it.
Let swimsuit competition be replaced by a Calculus exam. That should sort them out.
Mockturtle said
"Is there no place for the beautiful but modest woman in today's world? Has 'sexual freedom' really made the world a better place? Does a man want the future mother of his children to parade around on a stage wearing practically nothing? Women are increasingly de-valued in our society by both men and by women, themselves."
Mock, I agree with you. I never watched MA and from what I heard, liked the idea of looking at intellectual and talent as well. If they were going to have a truly balanced competition that featured the true qualities of women, I would favor it. But I see this latest move as just a big one going toward leftist and feminism.
Have 'em walk around in little black dresses.
They go better with tiaras anyway.
"The reason Miss America had a swimsuit competition is the same reason ancient Greek Olympians competed in the nude: it's the only way you know nobody's hiding anything under their clothes.
In the case of the ancient Greeks, it was weapons."
No, no. The traditional motto inscribed over the entrance to a Greek gymnasium was "Strip or depart!", but the stripping had nothing to do with hiding weapons. What was being cultivated was a pious, esthetic appreciation of the healthy human body.
What a time we live in! To live in a time when Rosie O'Donnell and Lena Dunham can be Miss America--maybe both simultaneously--brings tears to my eyes.
It seems like it really should be a written test, so you can't judge their voices either. Maybe a Turing test.
(Eaglebeak)
Here's Donald Trump on Dave Letterman's show in 2010 explaining how HE runs HIS beauty pageants (regrettably, he had to sell them when he ran for President).
Pretty funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR4bLwjS8g0
The traditional motto inscribed over the entrance to a Greek gymnasium was "Strip or depart!", but the stripping had nothing to do with hiding weapons. What was being cultivated was a pious, esthetic appreciation of the healthy human body.
Or rampant homosexuality.
Next up, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show won't include lingerie.
A swimsuit competition is not pornographic. It's not even artistic nudity. Whether it's Gaia-given or the product of personal effort, we can appreciate both the physical and mental performance of women and men. There is no legitimate cause to deny one or the other. And there is cause to recognize both, separately and together. Good luck to the women and men with aesthetically pleasing physical and mental attributes.
Darrell said...
What a time we live in! To live in a time when Rosie O'Donnell and Lena Dunham can be Miss America--maybe both simultaneously--brings tears to my eyes.
Don't forget Hillary!, she can still compete you know.... (Actually, I think that's why the dropped the swimsuit competition, you can't hide a back brace with a swimsuit. Not even with a one-piece.)
"They can't switch to judging women by their insides! How would that be done?"
The colonoscopy segment should draw in a few viewers. There'll be a 2 point deduction per polyp.
Paul,
What was being cultivated was a pious, esthetic appreciation of the healthy human body.
For the gymnasium, maybe. I think that's a later "Paidaic" gloss for some more practical reason.
But, I'm not talking about the gymnasium. I'm talking about the Olympic Games, which were as competitive and corrupt then as they are now. And I stand by my claim that nakedness was a defense against boxers & wrestlers sneaking in easily concealed weapons like brass knuckles.
I admit, until yesterday I didn't know the Miss America pageant was still a thing.
Yes, this is all about the women's minds, which is why there'll be a minimum SAT score and an essay contest, right?
I'll wait in the car for the likely suspects to start complaining about the bodily exposure incurred by male body builders in their contests.
Compared to how little of the male body is covered by a "posing pouch", a bikini is a veritable burkha.
These contests got old long ago, when the highlights were all about the ladies saying something stupid about World Peace. Besides, if it's no longer a beauty pageant, it might stop those dreadful little girl versions and their creepy stage moms.
The traditional motto inscribed over the entrance to a Greek gymnasium was "Strip or depart!
"Tits or go home" hadn't been invented yet . . .
I'm looking forward to Bruce Jenner winning this year's Miss America pageant.
I don't see anything wrong with scrapping the swimsuit competition, but to say that a beauty pageant isn't going to be about beauty is just silly. Is it going to become a talent show? There are already tons of those.
When one sees Miss America they look at their boobs and body as well as their intellect. It's a beauty pageant for heavens sake!
There could be a red carpet segment, where various sideboobs and underboobs and cleavages are displayed.
If you want guys watching go with cameltoe.
In honor of Grechen Carlson there could be a seated upskirt oiled legs segment.
This is a very interesting cultural shift, Mockturtle.
On the one hand, mores and morals have degenerated to the point that society no longer demands monogamous familial units for sexual gratification. In times past, that visceral need of men was required to provide the engine of impetus for work, family, and defense because he could only get it from a designated unit...erm...wife.
And sexual allure and emotional manipulation has always been one of the largest arrows in Aphrodite's quiver. (Or is it a quivering Aphrodite makes arrows larger...one of the two)
But now, monogamy is, if not dead, having the hospital lawyers look in great detail at the DNR letter. Women have had too many social Benedicts who will sell or give it away so male sexuality no longer depends on a ring and family.
Who demanded that again?
And further, now, by being exceedingly abrasive and huge PITAs, Feminists and modest women have made natural male urges suspect and deplorable. Virtually labelled as Rapists in Waiting. Yeah, you Church ladies had your part in this too. So anything men like, like tits, is to be removed from society...except women don't have enough votes to get rid of internet porn or strip clubs, and cheap sex is a plane ticket away.
So what is Ms. Pretty Prim going to do? Mostly be disillusioned at her choices.
mores and morals have degenerated to the point
They have progressed. That is [unqualified] monotonic change. Traditional morality, including individual dignity has been deprecated by diversity (e.g. racism, sexism) or "color judgments, and intrinsic value has been defeated by Planned Parenthood/selective-child (i.e. denial of life deemed unworthy, inconvenient, or profitable - recycled child). Women were denied franchise when progressive and liberal sects of the Pro-Choice Church asserted that Choice followed choice and choice (two choices preceding abortion rites). People were denied equal rights with the progress of political congruence ("=") or selective exclusion. Then there are the humanitarian pornographers and high fashion producers that reduce women in particular to the colorful clump of cells (e.g. gratuitous, bare naked breasts) that the female chauvinists have so long worked to realize (i.e. reduction of human life, dignity, and value).
FIDO, I'm not sure I got your point and you clearly didn't get mine.
Hmm!
Let me rephrase one of your statements: does a man want the mother of his children to prance about wearing clothing which has been culturally acceptable for women to wear for the last 80 years?
Or to put it another way: Does a man want to marry a Robin Meade (CNN Headline News from 6-11 am weekdays)? Yes, a man DOES want to marry a Robin Meade and he doesn't care if she wore a bikini ('92 Miss Ohio)
In this day an age, the choice to NEVER wear a bikini is...very odd. And it is a choice.
So the question is is 'why am I, as a grown woman making my own choices, penalized by drastically curtailing my mating pool because I don't want to wear a bikini?'
This is a self imposed problem and in the mating competition, tough titties. If I choose to only date redheads, I would be limiting myself to one person in 100-200 people (not counting dye jobs). How much sympathy would you have for me? Extraordinarily little because it is on me.
But you want chaste men who like very modest women with very traditional values...and find that you are stuck with maybe 10% of the male population, MOST of whom are already married, cause they want to be. And handsome 6'2" high status men are in EXTRAORDINARY short supply in that field...and are probably already married.
Hmm! Own your choices.
But let's be frank: it isn't about the bikini. It's about the expectation of sexual dynamics which women no longer control. In short: blowjobs and anal. That genie is out of the bottle.
So...do I, as a male, care if my wife wears a bikini in public and engages in a bit of consensual sodomy in the privacy of our bedroom?
No. I don't give a shit. Most men don't give a shit.
Heinlein got it correct: Men want a lady in public and a whore in the bedroom. And bikinis haven't been scandalous since the 30's.
Heinlein got it correct: Men want a lady in public and a whore in the bedroom.
Heinlein and Charlie Pride:
Kiss an angel good morning
And love her like the devil when you get back home.
So the question is is 'why am I, as a grown woman making my own choices, penalized by drastically curtailing my mating pool because I don't want to wear a bikini?'
My mating pool has never been curtailed by anything other than my own choices. And, as a 'grown woman', FIDO, you have a lot to learn. ;-)
Oh. Then this is just sympathy whinging. Carry on.
Ignorance is Bliss FTW!
Packer Bronco gets Honorable Mention.
The new puritanism. We don't get rid of the bikinis because they are immodest but because they "objectify". But it is a beauty contest. Both men and women appreciate beautiful women. It is hormones. Sex = survival of the species.
The new puritanism.
Methinks you wouldn't know puritanism if it bit you in your sorry butt.
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