१४ जून, २०१९

"You might assume that someone would have thought of this perfect Venn diagram of social media, beauty pageant, puppy adoration, grinning female empowerment, and Gilded Age excess by now."

"But in fact, this was the first ever Miss Dog Mom USA pageant....  The dogs, it would be fair to say, had no real agenda for the evening. But the women were there to win, to walk away with $1,000 and the sateen sash and a yearlong contract to wave from parade floats and officiate at canine weddings (yes, they exist) as Miss Dog Mom 2019.... Desh Valcin, 31, a tall, elegant woman with close-cropped hair and nerd-chic black plastic glasses, first came up with the idea for Miss Dog Mom a few years ago, when she was telling a friend how happy she was when she was 16 and competing in Miss Teen USA. From that moment, Ms. Valcin fixated on how to fuse her love of beauty pageants with her passion for her pets. Then, last summer, while strolling with her two dogs, it hit her: all you needed to turn a routine dog walk into a glamorous catwalk is a ball gown and an audience... Ms. Riddle, first up, was asked if pageants are degrading to women. 'How can this be degrading when we are raising money for all these great animals?' she asked, to cheers from the crowd. Then, a little flustered, she added, 'Nothing’s degrading, right?' before handing the microphone back the judges. One contestant fielded a question about pit bull discrimination (her take: pit bulls deserve equal rights)."

From "The Real Dog Moms of New York City/Inside the chaos, glitter and absolute furry cuteness of a puppy pageant" (NYT).

४६ टिप्पण्या:

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Lots of photographs at the link. The photos aren't mean but they are kind of comical. Worth using one of your NYT free reads if you are interested in seeing pageant ladies and their dogs.

Note that they were raising money for charity.

BarrySanders20 म्हणाले...

Pit bulls don't kill people . . .oh wait,, yes they do.

Should raise money for the funerals and medical costs of those mauled by pit bulls.

Maybe have a separate pageant for ladies (and gay men) who have support dogs. They can share their mental illness with everyone while sashaying down the catwalk (ha!) and also show off the pup. Fabulous!

dbp म्हणाले...

My guess is that the reporter thinks sateen is synonymous with satin.

Nonapod म्हणाले...

I always feel a little bad for little lap dogs. We humans have transformed a majestic beast into a near helpless, silly little yapping imp. It's both weird and scary. And we purposely have created dogs with awful breathing problems (bulldogs, pekingese ect) and problems getting around all because we find their struggles cute. We're a pretty cruel species when you get right down to it.

PM म्हणाले...

1. I like dogs.

2. I like women acting sexy.

3. I still laugh when I see grown men walking a teacup pooch. Gotta get over myself.

Rob म्हणाले...

The Miss America pageant used to say it was not a beauty contest, it was a scholarship pageant—because the prizes awarded are scholarships. On this theory, if the prizes awarded were cars it would be a car show.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

What about Cat Moms? Gerbil Moms? Playboy Bunny Moms?

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

And what if you are an actual Mom? Can you enter?

gilbar म्हणाले...

if the prizes awarded were cars it would be a car show.
i Remember car shows! The women Were Beautiful!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Too many variables for a Venn diagram. You want a Karnaugh map.

gilbar म्हणाले...

From the lower article....
helping to pay her way through college by dancing at industrial theatre shows for Admiral appliances and Philco TV sets.

I remember These TOO! Those women were Beautiful TOO!

Lucid-Ideas म्हणाले...

I'm reminded of one of Seinfeld's bits:

If aliens are watching, they probably think dogs are in charge. You're not walking them, they're walking you. You're in charge of whatever cleans up your droppings.

robother म्हणाले...

The handwriting's on the wall: the days of plus size handlers at Westminster Dog Show are numbered. Westminster could become the TV equivalent of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, capturing the male demo after the Super Bowl. What better way to show retrievers and other sporting breeds than in their element, swimsuit-clad handler and dog emerging streaming from a cold pond? Let's make this happen!

madAsHell म्हणाले...

I've been to a dog show. It's the loneliest, neediest bunch of people I've ever met!!

Don't get me started about bicycle clubs!!......another bunch of emotionally broken souls.

Lucid-Ideas म्हणाले...

In their defense, they're considerably more attractive than terrier people.

Michael K म्हणाले...

We were having brunch in Tucson on Mothers' Day and a woman walked in with a "Fur momma" sweatshirt on.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

But do they have all their shots? If it's good enough for dogs, it's good enough for the Babes. No anti-vaxers should be allowed. And their husbands also want them chipped.

gilbar म्हणाले...

MadAsHell said...
Don't get me started about bicycle clubs!!......another bunch of emotionally broken souls.

i concur!
bike club

Quaestor म्हणाले...

This little gathering was also for charity

gilbar म्हणाले...

traditionalguy said...
But do they have all their shots?
I'd buy that for a dollar!

Seeing Red म्हणाले...

How many scorned Tots and Tiaras?

How many are Down with the Patriarchy?

Ice Nine म्हणाले...

TL;DR (L = long *or* ludicrous; take your pick)

Disclaimer: I'm fine with their having fun.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

i concur!

ummmm.....Hell's Angels from San Berdo is a motorcycle club, not a bicycle club. Although they may have same emotional values, I would never confuse the two. The MC has guns.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

"I've been to a dog show. It's the loneliest, neediest bunch of people I've ever met!!"

The contestants or the audience?

Narr म्हणाले...

As long as there were no terrierists involved!

Narr
Dogs, gotta love 'em

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

We humans have transformed a majestic beast into a near helpless, silly little yapping imp.

Don’t Go With The Humans - but he gets a cupcake!

CJinPA म्हणाले...

"But in fact, this was the first ever Miss Dog Mom USA pageant.."

Perhaps because women who considered their pets to be children were before now objects of pity among rational people?

madAsHell म्हणाले...

The contestants or the audience?

Yes!!

madAsHell म्हणाले...

grinning female empowerment

Deeply.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

a woman walked in with a "Fur momma" sweatshirt on.

Let me guess......the sweatshirt was extra-extra-large with a sequined kitty-cat on the front.

Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...

“What about Cat Moms?”

Scary thought esp with one in my household. Would they get extra points for quantity?

“If aliens are watching, they probably think dogs are in charge. You're not walking them, they're walking you. You're in charge of whatever cleans up your droppings.”

Maybe worse for cats. Gave my local cat mom two T Shirts for Mother’s Day. One says “T3’s Mom”, and the other says “Who Owns Who?” (And, yes, it was the T Shirt company that doesn’t apparently understand the difference between nominative and objective cases). She was originally fairly cool towards the latter, but has come around, wearing it a bit. Esp after I got the blood out of it from the cat having chewed on her (he does that relatively often on her, but rarely with me, because I wear gloves and slippers when playing with him - something she disapproves of, wishing to share the pain, but I consider being a feline chew toy outside my job description).

Kevin म्हणाले...

One contestant fielded a question about pit bull discrimination (her take: pit bulls deserve equal rights)."

Kellyanne Conway, is that you?

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Vicki Hearne _Bandit: Dossier of a dangerous dog_ does the case for pit bulls.

A great book besides, on many topics. Written in the 80s, it spots the media as wholly untrustworthy and the problem in politics.

Ignore the cover blurbs, written by some woman who either didn't read it or didn't understand it.

Rory म्हणाले...

"Desh Valcin, 31, a tall, elegant woman with close-cropped hair and nerd-chic black plastic glasses, first came up with the idea for Miss Dog Mom a few years ago...."

What, there was no pool table in the neighborhood?

tim maguire म्हणाले...

To be a dog-mom, must you not have any real children? Is there a "sadness" score?

tim maguire म्हणाले...

BarrySanders20 said...
Pit bulls don't kill people . . .oh wait,, yes they do.


Only if they're abused and/or trained to kill people. Pit Bulls by nature are one of the most gentle breeds in existence. To people. Not so much to other things.

My name goes here. म्हणाले...

You know I was looking for a woman to have an affair. The problem for me was I never knew where could I find (A)an emotionally stunted woman with (B)loneliness and (C)attachment issues that would (D)date me that I would (E)also find attractive.

Thanks Althouse!

YoungHegelian म्हणाले...

all you needed to turn a routine dog walk into a glamorous catwalk

A dog walk into a catwalk?!!

Heaven forfend!

madAsHell म्हणाले...

Is there a "sadness" score?

Adversity index.

stevew म्हणाले...

Women and their dogs.

n.n म्हणाले...

Were they male or female? Were they barefoot? I'm surprised that NYT missed an opportunity to characterize the pageant as a metaphor for patriarchal oppression of women and animals.

Mark म्हणाले...

Miss Dog Mom USA pageant

Really? No one has yet mentioned that it might as well be called the Miss Bitch USA pageant?

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

How does a woman have to dress her canine to win the Doggy-Style Competition?

I am Laslo.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

Growing kittens on trees 🌲 🌲 like in Cetaganda ..

Talk about traumatizing.
Just ask Ivan.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

I used up all my free NYT passes and now I can't read the good stuff!

0_0 म्हणाले...

And the winner is the woman with the titty tat.