Miss America has had a #MeToo makeover – but is it another cover-up?
IN THE unlikely event you’re reading this and recently signed up for Miss America, you might want to rethink your wardrobe choices, as bosses of the beauty pageant have decided to ditch the leer-fest that is the swimsuit section.
Given the wider context, this #MeToo makeover doesn’t come as a shock. CEO Sam Haskell had to resign last year after a series of internal emails containing some choice comments on a number of contestants revealed him to be a misogynistic, sexist pig.
He was replaced by Gretchen Carlson, the Fox News anchor who sued the station’s CEO for sexual harassment. She now heads up the all-new, all-female board of the 97-yearold pageant. Carlson – or Miss America
1989 to her friends – is also a high-profile campaigner for women’s rights.
Few, therefore, will be surprised at this bid to make the pageant more “empowering” and “inclusive” (ie. palatable in an era where the objectification of women is no longer a spectator sport).
So it’s out with the dental-floss bikinis and stripper heels and in with “a live interactive session with the judges” where contestants talk about their passions and the role of Miss America.
The evening-gown segment is also being revamped, with contestants now encouraged to wear something they feel comfortable in that reflects their personal style. Leopardprint onesie and Ugg boots, anyone?
But if the contestants are no longer to be judged on looks, then what’s it all about? Carlson has emphasised that the “pageant” will now be known as a “competition” – but of what? Being a woman… a human being? With all the emphasis switching to public speaking, perhaps they’re going for a Toastmasters vibe, just with teethwhitening and tiaras.
If we want to empower women, to give them a platform to showcase their talents and ambition, then of course it shouldn’t involve strutting down a stage in high heels with more than 80pc of their flesh on display. However, the reality is that even with the G-strings and sequins airbrushed out, Miss America is still just a trumped-up lovely girls competition.
A big cover-up? That’s exactly what it sounds like.
Just plane old sexist
SUGGESTING, in the wake of causing offence, that ‘you were only joking’ is about as effective as it is original. Yet that’s exactly what Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker did after his pronouncement that the airline could only be led by a man because the role is just too challenging for a woman.
Yes, we women all know doling out G&Ts in business class is much better suited to our skill set.
Al Baker’s original comments seemed pretty unambiguous but within hours, the embattled CEO was attempting a U-turn any Boeing pilot would be proud of.
“I think the press took it out of context. They ... blew it out of proportion. It was just a joke... I apologise for it,” said Al Baker, who is to be commended for managing to cram every ‘defence in the face of media furore’ cliché into just one sentence.
Perhaps I am judging him too harshly. He does indeed have a history of being Mr Funny. Last year Al Baker said that US airline passengers were “always being served by grandmothers”, while boasting that the average age of his cabin crew was just 26. Hilarious.
On the upside, Al Baker’s comments have stirred up something of a debate around gender in the aviation sector, and probably left many women in the industry in no doubt that they could do the Qatar Airways’ chief’s job. Probably with their eyes closed and while wheeling a drinks cart at 30,000ft.
A little perspective
IRISH actor Aidan Turner, who plays the eponymous ‘Poldark’ in the BBC’s Cornish bodice-ripper, has revealed that he chose the particular horse he rides because, being slighter smaller than other steeds, it makes him appear larger.
I can’t help wondering how many other Irish actors looking for a little favourable perspective have used the same tactic.
Perhaps Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s gun in ‘Love/Hate’ was just that little bit bigger than other cast members’.
And how deep does the conspiracy go? Maybe Liam Neeson’s just a vertically challenged Antrim man with a love of oversized props.
The only public figure I’m pretty sure is not employing this trick is the wonderful Michael D, who would never stoop so low.