Why Pinoys Are Fixated On Superficial Beauty Contests

 

 

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I don’t get beauty contests. I don’t look forward to them. I don’t watch them. I don’t revel in the victories and I don’t care to keep track of the history. I do get the pinoy obsession with them though. Maybe it takes one to know one and I have never been a beauty. Imelda (there is only one) once said “Between beauty and power, it’s beauty I reach for”. Maybe that traumatized me on the idea of beauty. Here is someone who always talked about it and what I believe to be her legacy. How did that turn out for her?

 

Everybody is so thrilled about a winner in a beauty pageant. Problem is Ms. World and Ms. Universe are all more exhibition than competition. To paraphrase Dan Wetzel’s beef  about any event with judges: Some people just are born with better looks than others so where is the competition there? A competition requires a quantifiable way to determine a winner and a loser. There can be no debate about the scoring system. Ball goes into the basket or ball stays in glove. Is the swimsuit competition really about swimsuits scrapping in a cage match?? Judges are there to have their personal own agendas met. What kind of competition is that?? The most famous example of this was Perez Hilton deciding to make the “competition” about him.  Besides, why would you want to be judged by a flamboyant gossip columnist? For the record the bastion of liberalism at the time President Obama agreed with the contestant. You don’t see Perez condemning him. Double standard, he should try being a Filipino politician one time.

 

Like any red blooded male I do enjoy looking at beautiful women. But I can not remember the last time I sat down to watch a beauty pageant. Because face it they are not looking for someone gifted in the area of physics. Maybe someone gifted in defying physics. They want to see the women walk in evening gowns, swimsuits and do some sort of number. In the televised portion they only get one question to show the viewing audience what is inside their brain. Pageants are all about eye candy. Candy might taste good but it is bad for you even in the short run. Candy lacks substance, just read the news, look at our elected leaders and you will see the same thing.

 

She is the only Miss World contestant I can name. So how significant is this thing really?

She is the only Miss World contestant I can name. So how significant is this thing really?

I made a tweet Sunday. All I said was that Miss World is no big deal to me. All my life the only Miss World I remember is Lynda Carter who only represented the US and did not actually “win”. All you guys and gals about to get steamed at me, here is the last twenty Miss World winners and how many do you know?  That was exactly my point in my Smart Gilas opinion piece.  That Pinoy Paradox. They chest beat over something because of the prestige but they themselves could care less about the apparent excellence on display when there is no “pinoy” present. Pinoyness is a prerequisite to appreciating excellence. For me that is the heart of pinoy narcissistic behavior. They claim that these international “wins” gives them and their country “respect”. Heaven forbid they reciprocate. We want you to pay attention to us but we won’t pay attention to you. With KSPs it is rarely a two way street. Its all about the attention and not the actual excellence. Yet when somebody else achieves that excellence the pinoys ignore it. There is a word for making race a factor in appreciating or not appreciating something. You smart ones know what that word is.

 

 

Pinoys have an international reputation as taking pageants seriously. Do a Google Search. Is that something to be proud of? Us pinoys really enjoy swimming in the sea of superficiality. Don’t you love a place where the trivial is important and the important is trivial? What you are is God’s gift to you and what you become is your gift to God. Regardless of what you learned watching Sandra Bullock in Ms. Congeniality how much “development” do beauty contestants put themselves through?

 

It really makes no sense to chest beat in terms of nationality in just about anything. In my previous work I scratch my head how this nation can identify with Jessica Sanchez so much when at her peak in American Idol she had never been here. Therefore she did not grow up with the same schools or tv shows or whatever else. Is the need for attention that great? When Barrack Obama became President in 2008, much was made of the first black president. The thing is, he is half Caucasian. The part of him that rarely gets recognized. Tiger Woods is seen as a black man. But he is half Thai. People rarely bring up what is not visible.

 

“You yankees* are so silly about matters of the heart, Dont you know that women are the only works of art?”

Don Henley

 

Let us look at entirely different genre than race in terms of physical beauty. Look at the greatest songwriters of all time. they tend to be a hybrid. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David , Elton John and Bernie Taupin To borrow an idea from Breaking Bad, You cannot deny the chemistry. Sometimes you need two disparate things coming together to produce something great. Off the top of my head these are three examples of beauties no one nation can lay claim to. Three women who are products of a Eurasian union. If they are not your type because they are not pinay, I could give a rat’s behind. I can never understand somebody who is adamant that pinays are the most beautiful in the world yet they have never left this country. If you are like the Beach Boys and “have been all around this great big world” then still insist pinays over the rest of the world then OK. Just know when you read me, I aim to broaden your perspective, not narrow it down. I can also tell you the most fun I ever had anywhere in the world standing on the corner watching all the girls go by was in Madrid.

 

Morena Corwin

Morena Corwin

 

 

 

Angela Melini

Angela Melini

 

Yunji De Neis

Yunji De Neis

 Yunji De Neis babe

 

It seems like the desire for foreign blood fuels the desire of the pinoy to get away from their aboriginal identity. There seems to be a disconnect between declared values and real values. Pinoys want their cake and eat it too. They want propriety but yet the accepted idea of beauty in this culture has to have some sort of mestiza element to it. Something here does not compute. Proud to be pinoy and live and die with beauty contests yet the culture seems to encourage pinoy blood being “diluted”.

 

We are known as the brown race. You rarely see brown models or actresses in pinoy media.

We are known as the brown race. You rarely see brown models or actresses in pinoy media.

There are many dark skinned beauties here but if you recall Jim Rohn said the market place is reality.The audiences based on our media providers don’t seem to care for them You rarely see any of them playing prominent roles in the movies, dramas, game shows, newscasts and even the car show model circuit. One of the few places where you can find dark skinned pinays is in Trike Patrol.

 

Typical Barrio lass Maui Taylor

How many times have pinoy movie producers cast people like actresses Maui Taylor as a barrio lass? YEAH! Your typical barrio girl is that fair skinned and has silicone “enhancements”.

 

 

You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
Then people gonna treat you better
You’re gonna find, yes, you will
That you’re beautiful as you feel

Carole King

 

Whoever wrote the phrase “secure in their own skin” did not have the pinoys in mind. I have always been of the mindset that you should be grateful for what God gave you. Hilarious how Kris Aquino endorses skin whitener when her skin is already naturally lightener. It is a bit like Olive Oyl  endorsing some weight loss program. Here in GRP yes we love discussing pinoy dysfunction. But any nation that adores Kris Aquino gets what it deserves. KSP is the root of all evil.

 

 

“Show A Little Faith There’s Magic In The Night, You Ain’t A beauty but hey your all right. And that’s all right with me “

 

Bruce Springsteen Thunder Road (1976)

 

Bruce Springsteen is an interesting case in relation to the beauty pageant ideal. He was my musical idol as a teenager and his music still moves me today. Bruce sings, writes and plays with the same goal that I write. To make a connection. Take a guess who is more successful at it? Now the following is just a personal theory I always had. I only use as a basis my knowledge and personal fondness for Bruce Springsteen’s music.

 

Bruce Springsteen's first wife.

Bruce Springsteen’s first wife.

Julianne Philips

 

Bruce was initially married to Julianne Phillips in 1985.

 

 

The marriage lasted four years then two years later married Patti Scialfa in 1989. A marriage that lasts to this day. My personal theory was that Bruce was always about being an artist. Someone who did not really perform as opposed to really expressing himself. He is so into performing that he I observed that he lip syncs badly. If you are lucky enough to ever see him perform ( I have twice) that is him on stage. It is not a character he slips into. He has been able to maintain all that energy because it is not an act. For a reasonable simulation find a copy of Springsteen and the E Street Band and try to listen it in hour stretches. There are times you may feel the highs and the lows. Totally rockin or totally somber. I promise you Bruce and the band will not leave you the same way they found you.

 

Bruce was so consumed with what he did. He initially married this beautiful model/ actress. That is what rock stars do. That did not last for whatever reason but based on the facts he married someone in his band who is so much further removed from the beauty pageant standard compared to his first wife. For those of you focused on the looks then maybe you are thinking initially that he “downgraded”. My personal theory is that Bruce was married in a sense to his band. They bonded over hours and hours of rehearsal, performing and travel. Those of you who have never played in a band or grew up on drum machines and samplers have no idea how much work it goes into getting a band to play tight. Bruce was previously married to Miami Steve ( Yes Silvio in Sopranos), Clarence, Gary, Roy, Mighty Max and Danny. In 1984 Nils Lofgren and Patti came. I feel that Bruce could pour his soul into somebody who fought that same war on the same battlefield. Somebody who was part of his baring his inner self to crowd after crowd. It is not about beauty pageant looks. Might be nice but that is just a one variable equation.

Patti+Scialfa+dxc__pp1735040

Patti and Bruce

 

You can make the case I am bitter. I did hit a few branches on the ugly tree I have to admit. I am so grotesque that I make the Phantom of the Opera look like 1950’s Rock Hudson. So you can keep that bias in mind. Many aspects of physical beauty are beyond your control anyway. Whatever happened to “its not what happens to you but how you react that counts”? Wait a minute we can say the same thing of race or specifically the condition of being pinoy. Being pinoy is an accident of birth. Once in a while the world produces a woman who is beautiful no matter how you look at her. One such example is Audrey Hepburn. Through no act of her own she was born with that face. But she strived to be charming and graceful. That is her. She was a giving person, that is her. She was more than her looks.

 

Many connoisseurs of beauty think of Audrey Hepburn as the standard. Beauty beyond the physical.

Many connoisseurs of beauty think of Audrey Hepburn as the standard. Beauty beyond the physical.

You can not argue that in beauty pageants there is some agreed upon universal standard. As far as figures go there is some conformity. Look at that picture and countless others of beauty pageants. There are women who I find beautiful but have no business being in a “beauty” pageant. My question is this reverence and bombardment of beauty pageant standards healthy for women in general? I am sure there are many documented incidents of this though the first example that always pops into my head is that once upon time there was no such thing as eating disorders in Fiji. The entrance of television changed all that.

There really is a body type that must be conformed to in pageants world wide. Is that a good thing?

There really is a body type that must be conformed to in pageants world wide. Is that a good thing?

 

I was very fortunate enough to earn my undergraduate degree in a school that was a kaleidoscope of races. Blondes, red heads, Asians, Europeans, Indos, Africans. Maybe that helps my appreciation of different kinds of beauty. I hope I can safely say that I am not racist. Beauties and even non beauties of all races rejected me equally. It’s not them, it’s me. I like my women the same way I like my coffee: black. Difference being though in college I did have coffee.

 

 

How is this for a sample of pinoy values? Pinoys lay siege on a pinoy town and kill pinoy civilians and military = no outrage. Some Facebook troll allegedly mocks Ms. World = outrage. A faceless writer expresses apathy for the so called national team that bears corporate sponsorship = death threats. Where is the logic in that? Don’t you love a place where the significant is trivial and the trivial is significant?

 

The same emotional irrationality that drives pinoys to treat international beauty pageants as life and death is the same emotional irrationality that allows mental juggernauts like Erap and Noynoy to get elected. The same emotional irrationality that drives pinoys to treat international beauty pageants as life and death is the same emotional irrationality that allows people to believe Noynoy Aquino is the nation’s savior despite everything going on around them like Zamboanga and the pork barrel scandal.

 

My role is to inject a dose of reality to this festive ocassion. In the midst of all this celebration, ever stop to think what the heck you are celebrating? A “pretty” face is God given. Don’t get me going on the Belo mentality of beauty either. The mentality that vanity is the most important value. Or a value at all. I have seen enough Frankenstein stories.

 

I like what I like. I know it sounds painfully obvious but not really to some of you. Because I like things for their intrinsic value not for their nationality. I am fortunate to enjoy many things in my life like: Steely Dan, The Far Cry Series. The Larry Sanders Show, Major League Baseball, ESPN podcasts, Miles Davis, The New Statesman, Thomas Harris books. What I will never do is force them down your throat. I might make the case to appreciate them but in the end people are wired for different things. Don’t force me to value beauty pageants and pinoy basketball like you do. It might mean something to you, it means nothing to me. I find some deep emotional investment in beauty pageants silly yet logical for the pinoy culture. Because of the dysfunction inherent within. A society that looks up to Noynoy Aquino, Willie Revillame, Erap Estrada, Andrew E and Richard Gomez can not be labelled as anything other than dysfunctional. Entertainment choices is one thing. But when that ignorance spills into my life because of the lack of rationalization exercised by pinoys in the ballot box you have earned my wrath.

 

With pinoys it is always about race. Either they are better than anyone else or they are victim. There is no in between. Is there anything wrong with knowing you are pinoy and just go on with your life? I will say the same thing I have said in every blog of mine that questions pinoy nationalism. Don’t ask me to care about singers, basketball players or beauty contestants as long as you guys continue to vote in mental midgets in all levels of government. Get that right first. If Pinoys are world class at anything it is in being butthurt over the trivial and ignoring the significant. Our President makes a peace treaty solely for the headlines but no meat where it matters and no one cares. Change the setting to a beauty pageant then you have people’s attention.

 

Eat Bulaga, Willie Revillame and tele novella type shows dominate the ratings here. Things that deal with instant gratification and usually allergic to any thought process. Even our news on the over the air channels , they have the same intonation as pro wrestling announcers. Beauty contests are a big deal in the Filipino culture. Look around you and see what else our society values and you realize it is fitting.

 

I believe that beauty pageants are superficial. Filipino culture just embraces it . Then again in 2010 faced with a decision of who will lead the country the voters considered leadership, wisdom. morals, decision making , crisis management to negligible qualities. Instead they split their votes between a guy whose mother just died and a convicted plunderer. The typical pinoy election is like a beauty election but without beauty. No brains required either. Your call if that is superficial. PROUD TO BE PINOY!!!!

 

122 Replies to “Why Pinoys Are Fixated On Superficial Beauty Contests”

  1. Your blog is a perfect example of “swimming in the sea of superficiality.” You never answer the interesting question you pose in the title. Your musings have no focus. No conclusion is ever reached. The question could have been explored in terms of anthropology, sexism, media, education, colonialism or any number of different ways. But instead, you flail about in your usual vapid, arbitrary manner. You lack the necessary philosophic mindset to see “the big picture.” What makes you think you have anything worth telling anyone?

    1. Woh, take it easy on the sarcasm, Sea Bee. Any and all have the right to express their insights, even if these are just musings. The GRP bloggers, I think, are not writing blogs to get a passing mark in English class; they’re expressing their views that are sacred to them, and in their personal style. I find that heartwarming. If you don’t like that style, don’t read.

      1. sa bawat response ikaw nagdedefend? lol anong kalokohan ang sabihin mong di ka aware na dinedefend mo tong lover mo or whatever na si gogs. lol. you two are funny

    2. Sea Bee,

      I find it amusing that you believe I have nothing to add to anything. I have been writing here for sometime and I could have sworn people react. Positive and negative to many different topics. Any response to points I raise in a blog be they positive or negative justifies writing the blog in the first place. You are the first to comment and I will give you that. Since your comment others have chimed in on all sorts of positions. What we have here is a discussion. No one is looking for zombie like agreement. People can differ with what I have to say. I know what I signed up for. I am actually thankful for critics with half a brain because they keep me on my toes when I write, research and proof read. You are welcome to your opinion that I should not be writing anything but I have my track record and you can’t argue with that. The true test of the irrelevant specially online where you have infinite choices is not the presence of vitriolic response but apathy. Whether you love me or hate me, one thing you can’t argue is you came to me. I didn’t go to you.

      As for a conclusion, despite saying the juxtaposition of trivial and significant several times, I thought I wrapped a bow on it in the last two paragraphs. Still thanks for reading.

  2. Beauty pageants reinforces white supremacy. It forces people of color to accept the global elitists hatred of people of color. In the Stanford Prison Experiment it shows that the prisoners (people of color) readily identified with the role of prisoner and identified with the oppressor (prison guards,conquistadors,priests). After being conquered the nationals are confused, fearful, and dehumanized. They will identify with the oppressors and seek to look and act like them to escape punishment. The only reason for Miss world is to sell more cancer causing skin whitening creams and other cosmetics.

      1. hello? is venus raj fair-skinned? miriam, janine, mutya datul, even megan young? what on earth are you talking about.

        gusto mo black ang ipadala? parang yung black coffee na sinasabi mo? mag-isip-isip nga. gusto mo mga aborigins na aeta ang ipadala? anong magagawa mo ang Pilipinas ay pugad ng iba’t ibang lahi. malamang ikaw rin hindi aeta. anung gusto mo orig na orig na pilipino? eh wala naman talagang orig. kahit mga kano galing ng europe. anong gusto mo mga native indian-americans ang dapat lang lumahok sa miss america? mag-isip-isip nako naman.

  3. pinoys love beauty pagnets because it takes no brain power to become one, just looks. And to become famous and rich without any effort is the pinnacle of success here. I once asked a girl what is pinoy pride, she looked confused when her tiny brain started working and after a while said, “we have some beautiful women here and we are proud of that”

  4. In this kind of contest, it all comes down to whoever gives an erection to the male judge/audience/host. :)) LOL I was kidding with that.
    ———————————

    Anyway seriously, Everyone has a different taste and a different perception with beauty. Sad thing about our so-called ‘race’ is that they don’t get the attention or even respect globally because lately when I saw something that has a Pinoy subject in it, it all has something to do with outrage..and we seem to love to ride on the outrage fad. It is no wonder why a lot of people suffer from hypertension and high blood pressure, not to include of course the life style that most people do.

    We have no international representation in just about anything, take sports for example, now don’t get me wrong about Gilas and Azkals but we have yet to at least participate in a big global event that is at the level of the Olympics. When was the last time we won a gold medal in the Olympics? Last time I checked every medal our country has won in that event can be counted by my fingers. 2 silvers and 7 bronze I think? My pinky finger still has room for one more 😀

    Speaking of international representation, how many people actually come here and experience that “It is more fun in the Philippines”? Thanks to the NPA, MILF, MNLF, Abu Sayaff that is infesting the places where tourism could have been good business and all those misguided, gun-toting, mouth-breathers are waiting for their next victim(s) to kidnap, rape, rob, and slay. But of course at the cost of millions of dollars to be paid for by our government just in case they still want to give them back alive. Even if they don’t go to those places, just when you arrive at NAIA when you see the immigration officer, the cops, the comfort room, the taxi drivers, the pollution, the sad miserable tow-wrecks (whether a beggar or a robber) trying to get you to give your money to them because their children are hungry..you get the drift.

    Sadly our cuisine has not been able to attain a consistent point of view and refinement. You don’t see many foodstops abroad with Filipino cuisine in it, and don’t get me started with Jollibee.

    So the problem lies is this, they work with what they have, and that is with their women. Very rare that you get women in pageants who aren’t a mix of another race, but then whoever gets the shot will get a lot of attention and support. The Filipinos have a lot of pride in their so-called ‘race’ and thrives to compete with other countries for respect or at most for attention. Look at Manny Pacquiao and how the Filipino community comes together. The problem with that is after the match is over, everyone is gonna ride the coattails of Manny Pacquiao or in this case Megan Young in which that is the part where it all goes wrong.

    Every nation is guilty of taking something too seriously..like how South Africa loves football(soccer), how America loves basketball and football, how India loves Bollywood just to name a few (feel free to correct me though but that is my observation as I’ve traveled to these places already). You can call it a shallow obsession or whatever but that is how it is, it gives people a sense of numbing pleasure that takes them off from the reality of the world.

    As for me, I go back to work today, this country’s problems still remains unsolved, people down south are stuck in a warzone, pork barrel bs is still high and up in the air, some parts of my province are still stuck with blackouts, the price of rice is still freaking expensive, U.S. Government shuts down..and yeah so many other bullshit that around the world.

    1. Yes your first crack was funny. My point was to tie what I find the out of proportion love for these pageants with the dysfunction in the rest of the society. Some believed I did that, others got enraged.

  5. I guess the “Filipino”/”Filipina” is more of a branding than anything meaningful to the people themselves today. It does not really matter how these people or anything that is called Filipino do in substance. Just smack the F-word on it, place/find them on the international level of media exposure, suddenly, they’re the best in the eyes of the Filipino.

    It could be that Filipinos are yet to become better as a nation. Or, maybe the real good ones worthy of the F-word branding are less covered by the media.

    1. It is all about labeling yes. Just like A Bias Station Controlled By Noynoy tries to convince the masses that the Aquinos are the Royal Family of this country.

  6. Filipinos love this kind of contests because majority are so fascinated mostly by the financial rewards and the luxury that the title brings.

    Usually they make it as if their own. Basically this is not bad at all. But for their parasitic mindset it makes makes them even more paranoid in laziness and looking up to whoever could feed them and families for free.

    1. Bob Dylan had a song I pity the poor Immigrant. There should be a pinoy version of the song I pity the poor OFW. Sacrificing tons only to be taken advantage of by the parasites.

  7. At some point you were right about filipino’s being like this and like that but in the case of beauty pageants its more like a way of giving hope to our filipino people that despite our dysfunctional traits we still have something to show the world that we can still compete and show our presence in any competition. if we dont encourage our own people like you do then who else???
    think about that

    1. My whole point is the beauty pageant is not really a worthy competition the way volleyball or who wants to be a millionaire is a competition. Plus I only scratched the surface what it does to the self image of women. I know you don’t come across as one of my haters but who else brings up this stuff?

    1. Nicaragua won most times..6. So much for some saying beauty pageants are about race. Of course for most filipinos who believe “pinay are the most beautiful in the world”, Nicaragua doesn’t exist.

      1. At the risk of sounding pedantic and obsessive about pageants, it looks like Venezuela has the most wins for Miss World at 6 wins. India and UK are next with 5 wins apiece. USA has 3 wins. We’re just too fat to compete in that shit anymore. LOL.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World#Top_20_countries_by_tally

        And here’s a special treat for the Pinoy Pride people.

        http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/128471/philippines-first-to-win-all-five-intl-beauty-pageants

        Nevermind your lack of a proper and modern infrastructure. The Philippines has done what no other country has ever done. You guys got the grand slam of beauty pageants. A WINNER IS YOU!

  8. There was a good point raised in this article about the lack of outrage over Zamboanga or the government but there being tons of outrage when someone offers a contrarian opinion for these things. I saw someone’s blog post about how some internet troll from another country said something about Filipino pageant winners and everyone was “outraged”. Yet there is a lack of outrage when we as Filipinos are killing each other. It’s like saying that killing one another is ok because we’re all Filipinos but don’t fuck with us, foreigners! Or we’ll start a war with you.

    1. Read a few more of my blogs here in GRP. Filipinos kill missionaries and it is just white noise. But Jessica Sanchez and whoever pageant finalist just makes it all OK.

        1. For everyone’s information, it’s important to realize if our arguments are fallacies, especially argumentum ad hominem, not because we’re in philo class but because our national debates won’t get anywhere if we keep committing these fallacies in reasoning.

    1. Nikki,

      I take your comment as a compliment. What I said must have really hit home to your personal situation. I was so on target that you could not think of countering the points as presented. So you just thought of some elementary school level response since that is all you had in your arsenal.

      2) Don’t you know anything about gay guys in real life? They live for beauty pageants. My whole central premise was the exact opposite. All I did was voice my opinion on a topic and all you did was respond with your perception of my sexual orientation. You left the many points enumerated untouched.

      3) Me gay? Not that there is anything wrong with that. You must have me mistaken for this guy.

    1. Thank you for reading the whole thing Chrissie. I am sure others just read the title and already came to their conclusion and then attacked. They don’t bother with what I said. I say it in the blog that my goal in writing is to make a connection. There really is some magic in that the few times it happens and it is with people who have no idea who you are. It’s just the words. Thank you again.

  9. When that Indian girl got flak online for speaking badly against Megan Young and Filipinos, a lot got so batshit crazy. Initially, I just shook my head at her and moved on.

    I think we have more to worry about than that “pinoys are smelly” issue.

  10. Beauty pageants are entertainment, nothing more. They are in my opinion at par with singing competitions such as “Idol.” A Filipino who wins a pageant has no more entertainment value as a Filipino who wins in an international singing tilt.

    The fact that the Philippines would rather exalt the achievements of entertainers rather than the achievements of scientists and scholars reflects something intrinsically wrong with culture today.

    It also proves a certain point: Pinoys want people who are special because they are popular, rather than people who are popular because they are special.

    1. Thank you as usual MidwayHaven. Almost every critical post I make addresses values at some point. Or the fact that they are misplaced. You got my point unlike some others whose feelings are out of joint because I don’t conform to their appreciation of beauty contests.

  11. Gogs, you must have a very lonely life to write this article. Don’t you have anything much better to do than criticize beauty contest? I bet you are one lonely faggot! Faggot!

    1. Argumentum ad hominem. Also, cyberbullying. This is one of the reasons that the Philippines is in deep trouble: citizens who cannot argue intelligently and who get personal and very offensive when they’re told something they don’t like…. Besides, just because you’re a man who doesn’t enjoy lusting after the near-bare bodies of women parading before you, you’re a faggot? My, you have a very low opinion of men….

    2. Homophobia seems to affect every negative comment here these days, even those who might have queer tendencies themselves.

    3. Dimasalang,

      A disgruntled member of the beauty pageant hardcore I see. Don’t you have better things to do than to seek out lonely people who disagree with your point of view? Like I told somebody else the members of male homosexual portion of the population are the ones who tend to adore beauty pageants and the fabulous costumes. Not sure why you are such an expert on my life to come to that conclusion. Again, I must have really hit a nerve with you otherwise you would not be here devoid of any logic or counter argument.

      As I said in the blog, my goal is to make a connection and I obviously made a connection with you. It is not my fault you don’t like what you see in yourself. Thanks for reading , read more. Not sure why you think I am gay other than the fact I really hit the bulls eye in that pinoy pride of yours. But since you are in the mood to look for gay guys, give this guy a try.

  12. Hijo, kanya-kanyang trip lang yan! Kung hindi mo bet ng beauty pageant eh di huwag kang manuod! Para sabihin mo pa na mababaw ang mga beauty pageants at pati ang mga nanunoud nito aba hindi na tama yun! Halimbawa ikaw kuya, mahilig ka sa basketball at sabihin ko na walang kwenta ang larong yan dahil nagaagawan lang sila sa isang bola, ano kaya maiisip mo? Pinoy nga naman!

  13. This is an outstanding post Nile. These information will remind people about the anonymous blogging and will keep their quality writing from wandering eyes. Keep posting such gratifying work. Thanks a ton for the helpful information.

  14. Just RESPECT! Kung ayaw mo eh di wag! Kanya kanya lang yan ng gusto! Kung ikaw di mo type ang beauty pageants eh di wag! Pero generalizing the concept of beauty pageants and telling us na mababaw do some research first! Better yet interview past beauty queens kung panu sila nag pprepare just to represent our country and give honor!

    1. Santi,you ever here the law in first year high school science? To every action there is a reaction. Am I not entitled to react to all you people who take beauty pageants so seriously?? DO some research?? Not sure what you call the other things I put here to augment my point. Uniquely I might add. Like you never found anything else silly in your life and you just kept it to yourself.

      Finally you missed my point. Give honor?? By what ? Wearing a swimsuit and an evening gown?? In the meantime your president that you guys voted in goes down to Australia and the U.K. and makes wheelchair jokes. And you get pissed off at me for exposing pageants for the petty things that they are?

  15. much ado about nothing. i can’t believe you took the time to write (and that i read more than half of)this supposed ‘superficiality’, as you claim. pageants are purely for entertainment, escapist fare for most Pinoys. so leave them, let them. women joining pageants these days are smart, accomplished, and with clear goals. often these are noble goals. and they wouldn’t be in it if there’s a bit of offense to their person. people (particularly most Pinoys) just don’t see it the way you want it seen, and won’t likely be swayed any time soon. soes that make you any better than them? hell no! CHILL!

    1. “Much ado about nothing”? That is exactly my point about beauty contests. If pinoys don’t go overboard and try to live vicariously through her I am not writing this blog. You tell the people that find this gratifying to chill not me. I am pointing out what is there. Beauty contestants are smart?? Yeah join a contest where its more important to conform to their idea of a contestant. Next time one is on look at how the girls are almost identical in height and dimensions and you want to convince me that pageant organizers care about brains??? How many events during the pageant stress brains??

      Do me a favor ejayph. Go to the title of this website and read it. Go to the tagline and read that three times.

      You seem so shocked I would have a point of view that does not conform to yours or most people’s. You being here and telling me that makes as much sense as you going to an Indian Restaurant on Buendia and Ayala and wanting to order a Champ Burger.

  16. I couldn’t agree more. this is a very good piece. i hope our fellow Filipinos will learn something from this. God bless you.

    1. Thank you Martha. Thanks for reading and I am glad this strikes a positive chord for you. Should you read my previous posts, many Filipinos don’t seem to have learning as a top priority. My Exhibit A is the election of 1998 and Exhibit B is the election of 2010. And I am supposed to care about basketball teams and beauty contest contestants? God bless you.

  17. For someone who does not care about beauty pageants, you seem to have a lot of info about. Beyond that, you decided to write about it.

    The chest beating you mentioned exists locally as well, when Ateneo beat La Salle, they had burned planks with DLSU player’s names. It is not contained to just the pageants.

    1. To write about something without having some knowledge about it for me is to be emo. You can see where emo gets this nation and to a smaller extent my detractors on this thread.

      Besides. Beauty pageants have not changed since the days of Bert Parks. Opening musical number, Swimsuit portion , evening gown , talent show, highlights of their daytime photo ops. Elimination down to 12. Elimination down to 5. The random question from the judge. Last year’s winner comes out and there is a recorded speech playing. Now if they innovate it with the addition of a cage match or mud wrestling that would be change we can believe in. People can take it seriously , I choose not to.

      Finally yes the trash talking in a rivalry like you mentioned is a prerequisite. Thank you.

    1. You read all my contributions to this website since May 2012. All the variety and all the different angles. You may not agree with me but there is no way in hell I am shallow. You are just emo since something I wrote you hit your pride and you have no idea how to react so its ad hominem time. BTW shallow is an adjective and not a verb. You are welcome for the grammar lesson.

      1. may ad hominem ka pang nalalaman. ayusin mo content ng sinusulat mo. wala kaming paki sa structure. sense first, structure and style will just follow.

      2. Dude, stop giving grammar advice, since you are also horrible with your sentence construction! See your post below, it’s “sour graping” not graphing. LOL

        With regards to your article, pinoys are indeed superficial and tend to only appreciate what they would like to see. The very reason why famous personalities thrive in politics.

        But there is no reason not to celebrate the beauty and goodness of a woman! We came about from our mothers who took care of us and that my friend is more than enough reason why we should honor the beauty of a woman. Beauty pageants are probably one of the ways to remember that.

        1. Three words: Read the post. I think celebrating the beauty of a woman entails more than the very narrow ideal of beauty pageants. Body type, the same. Thinking skills , you only hear the final twelve actually speak in a sentence or two?? That is what you think celebrates women?? If you think this is a good message to send to women and to children that is up to you. Go ahead and hate on me for injecting a dose of reality to this festive occasion.

        1. It was indeed a noun, not a verb. Cannot identify parts of a sentence for a writer?

          @Gogs, sorry I stopped reading after your first paragraph. I don’t get it why you even try to wrote this topic and for what? Opening the eyes of the reader. Please!

        2. Don, Your prerogative not to read but then don’t comment on some thing that you read 5% of. No wonder you are defending something as superficial as beauty pageant. The emo that love that worship the results of beauty pageants by definition don’t have the IQ to appreciate GRP posts. Not just mine.

  18. Gogs, you must be a very ugly person like Divina De Diva to be sour graping at every Filipino victory at an international event? Ugly outside and deep inside.

    1. Why am I sour graphing ? Do me a favor, explain why Beauty contests have substance . Prove me wrong . You guys love Noynoy and Erap yet I am the one who makes no sense?? Emo nation that votes for a guy cause his mom died. Smooth move Dimaslang. Culture looks up to Kris Aquino and Richard Gomez. Proud to be Pinoy !!!! One word: superficial. Get used to it. Calling me ugly ? Truth hurts so you emo me.

  19. I also have a friend like you who’s very cynical about so many things “Filipino”. At one point I also shared the same perspective (on how “superficial” Filipinos are, watching “superficial” noontime shows and well, these pageants).

    But to deem everything “Filipino” superficial is highly prejudiced, aside from that humiliating one’s own country through egocentric opinions does not lessen the “superficiality” you are talking about. In fact it is rather ironic how you point fingers at your own fellowmen when you yourself sound just like the rest of us (shallow).

    It goes like this, calling beauty pageants dumb is no different from saying football is dumb, mathematics is dumb.. art and music are both a waste of time. People are not born with the same natural capabilities. Some are gifted with spatial intelligence, some have a flair with words but not with numbers and the other way around, whilst some are born with physical beauty we cannot simply deny. Now, if a woman joins a beauty pageant, that does not make her a shallow person. Shamcey Supsup is an architect and for heaven’s sake, the most sensible woman you can ever speak to. Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, all these people have their own personal motives and we are in no position as equally imperfect human beings to point fingers at them and call what they are doing “superficial”.

    Writing this article anonymously is even more superficial than what these women actually went through just to lighten up the stern mood in their respective countries struggling economically or politically.

    Watching all your favourite T.V series or visiting your favourite website is just as superficial instead of feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. Lol.

    In a nutshell, don’t call people or anything shallow, because nobody in the first place is even worthy enough to have that real, abundant substance you keep mentioning, which this article clearly lacks.

    And I’m sorry in case my grammar is erroneous. I no longer have enough time to proof-read but I’m pretty certain about the content of my sentiments. Cheers.

    1. Alex , thanks for taking the time to make your point. It’s not even so much the beauty pageant per se. It’s no secret I enjoy the show Dexter since I wrote about it . The show is that. It does not define me or my self worth . My main beef is in this country the trivial is significant and the significant is trivial . Thanks again .

    2. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Gogs’s point, alex, is not so much that the Filipinas who have joined beauty contents don’t have substance. As you said in so many words, that’s their personal “trip.” I think Gogs is lamenting the fact that so many Filipinos seem to peg Filipino national pride on our winning such beauty contests (or boxing matches, singing contests, etc.) rather than on being responsible citizens of a democratic country, which he deems one of the biggest reasons that our country has hit rock bottom. I agree with him 100%.

      1. @chrissie art and music are very important. in fact i believe it’s a necessity.

        the thing is don’t write about things you don’t like. don’t even fuss about it. write about the things you are genuinely passionate about.

        of course you guys would defend yourself but i think by now you know how ironic this article is.

        and i don’t know with you chrissie, if you’re gogs’ wife or what lol you keep on defending this writer i mean it doesn’t make sense. just go write something that’s actually worthy you know. that’s all

        1. You’re not making sense at all, alex. About your first point, that’s exactly what Gogs did: write about something he was passionate about–helping his fellow Filipinos evaluate their traits so we’d all be the better for it. As for your second point, no, alex, I don’t think Gogs’s article is in any way ironic, unless I don’t understand what “ironic” means. As for your third and most irrational and malicious point, I’m not Gogs’ wife; I don’t even know him or his full name, and I don’t even realize that I’ve been defending him. It’s just that I believe in what he and the rest of the GRP bloggers believe in. As for your last point, that I go write something that’s actually worthy, thanks for the suggestion, but I already did. I’ve written four books–two volumes of Philippine history and two of World History–all of which I wrote in a highly unconventional way: using history as a springboard to talk about why we are what we are today. Check them out at all National Book Store and Powerbooks outlets (although some outlets, I’ve been told, have run out of copies): The Other Philippine History Textbook Vol. 1 & 2, and World History: New Perspective Vol. 1 & 2. Author’s name: Christine Diaz.

        2. “I don’t even realize that I’ve been defending him”

          so what on earth do you think you are trying to do???? you have already published books yet you do not know what you actually are doing? and that’s the most basic thing a human should ever know–to freaking know what on earth he’s doing!

          anyway, congrats on the books. now what about turn those thousands of words in your voluminous books into one simple action that will actually make the REAL difference?

          i’m out now. got too much time in my hands oh well. i’ve never commented on sites before, this in fact is my first time here. but this is just disturbing.

          Filipinos ain’t perfect, if you’re trying to “criticise” your own kind and believe it’s going to help us all improve as citizens well you failed at it. It’s not going to ever work because first, most Filipinos don’t f*cking have stable internet connections to even read what you’ve written about. Ingles pa. If you really want genuine change start with yourself, don’t talk about it, just f*cking do it, and don’t ridicule others or the things that they do just because you’re different than most.

          that’s it mrs. diaz/gogs/et al

        3. Chrissie, you are a welcome addition to the GRP boards. As you can see, I have been accused of being gay now I am accused of being your husband. Which technically can happen as pinoy soaps have shown us. If there is one good thing from this I am now curious about the books. Granted my backlog is quite formidable. Alex says he thinks ad hominem is ok yet wonders why people don’t post their face or name. It takes all kinds of trolls. People can disagree with me fine but once they overstep certain boundaries gloves are off.

        4. Thanks very much, Gogs. Let’s not allow these unfortunate distractions to discourage us or make us stop doing what we can for the good of our country, okay? As for my books, they’re not as well written as your blogs here at GRP, but at least they’re not as bad as many of our history books that just rattle off facts and don’t make sense of them all. More power to you and GRP….

        5. The people on the comments section are a big part of GRP. I don’t want to rattle off names because I will miss some. So far none of Ricky’s Mac Book crew seems to have invaded this thread.

        6. Gogs, Christine,

          There’s another article right in alex’s responses — tribalism in Filipino attitudes toward any topic. It’s also reflected in the whole Gilas debate: “If you aren’t with us, you’re against us!” Therefore anything we do to you, no matter how reprehensible, no matter how senseless, or without merit, is acceptable. You are after all the enemy. THAT polarizing attitude IS disturbing; not the ability to have a dissenting, unpopular opinion that the majority does not agree with.

        7. I agree with you, Johnny Saint. That’s one of my frustrations with many of our fellow Filipinos. That’s why our national debates are either non-existent or don’t get anywhere…. That’s why I love GRP. I was already losing hope before I found it and realized that there are Filipinos out there who have the same views as I do. Many thanks!

      2. “…is not so much that the Filipinas who have joined beauty contents don’t have substance”

        eh di ba contradiction na, yung isang taong sensible sasali sa isang activity na hindi sensible?

        come on.

        Filipinos are not shallow. Shallow is such a relative word. You have to look around and consider, unang-una most filipinos live below the poverty-line. What does that imply? Not everybody has to privilege to enjoy real education and all the other luxuries first-world countries have.

        Anong ieexpect niyo, magkaroon ng napakaprofound na substance, magbasa ng Time Magazine ang mga Pinoy at maging politikal sa lahat ng oras?

        Malamang beauty pageants are there to entertain people, and not only to entertain, but it does inspire other women too. You both are looking at the scenario too pessimistically.

        I am not saying art is a waste of time. or music or physics. Ang point ko eh, kung shallow ang beauty pageants sa paningin niyo, ano pa ang iba?

        Ganito lang yan. Kapag ang isang tao nabababawan sa isang bagay, ang bagay yung hindi mababaw. Mababaw at makitid lang talaga yung utak at pananaw nung taong tumitingin sa object.

    3. By the way, alex, art and music are certainly not a waste of time as they stem from the inner recesses of our soul and make us more human, or reaffirm our humanity. That’s why they’re taught in Humanities class. (But many Humanities professors don’t get that, so they just rattle off facts in their classes and assign projects like making a miniature model of a building.) As for sports, it heralds the supremacy of our will as humans, which can drive us to best our opponents, sometimes even if they’re stronger than we are. I have yet to see how beauty contests can make us more human or can herald the supremacy either of our will or our minds, or both, which are what make us human rather than animals.

      1. ” I have yet to see how beauty contests can make us more human or can herald the supremacy either of our will or our minds, or both, which are what make us human rather than animals.”

        Do you know the obligations a beauty queen should adhere to after winning? Alam mo ba pinagsasabi mo? Nung bumaha tumulong ka ba sa mga biktima? Ang Binibing Pilipinas Charity oo.

        Stop judging because you don’t know what on earth you’re talking about in the first place.

        And by the way why not join a beauty contest? Pag beauty queen kasi mga sagot mo. hahaha.

        1. alex, tama na. This exchange is definitely not bringing out the best in you, and if I persist, it may do the same for me. If I hurt your sensibilities in any way because you happen to like beauty pageants very much, then please accept my apologies. I understand that sometimes the truth hurts.

        2. “alex, tama na…the truth hurts.”

          Exactly! The truth hurts, you self-righteous, trying-hard-to-be profound bunch of attention-seeking writers

          well i don’t mind about the ad hominem. this is not a philo class, we’re in the internet, we’re all anonymous. deal with it.

        3. It’s people like you who take the trivial so personally that motivate me to write. So if you don’t like what I say one way to get me to stop is to not me give me ammunition. But we all know to the emo pinoys , beauty contests are like crack cocaine. If you stop defending beauty pageants, another will just take your place.

    4. You, Sir, deserve a like. Also, I reckon Mr. Shmuck “not emo at all and very deep” Guy here will reply to you but you don’t have to read it anymore. You already have my like. haha

  20. Also, please do not delete this article and I would like you to look back and read this after, say, three months or a year.

    Sa ngayon di mo pa nakikita ang irony kasi kasusulat mo lang. You have to step back for a while to see the whole picture at marerealise mo na napaka-ironic. lol. First time ko sa website na to ayan napakacomment ako kasi napakadisturbing. At di porket nag-iinglis ka eh ilustrado ka na. Problema sa mga manunulat ngayon puro opinyon, walang gawa.

    1. Delete this??? If it is entirely up to me I will not change one word unless there is a spelling, formatting or grammar issue. You know what Lea Salonga said about this website? Leave your pride at the door.

      I don’t understand your wala gawa comment? Would you say the same thing to Conrado De Quiros? He writes. I choose not to live vicariously through someone else’s beauty pageant life. Others choose to. That is their choice but if you are going to subject me to this weeniness then I have the right to take it apart and satirize it. Go ahead read my treatment of beauty pageants again. Start to finish. Go ahead and take me to task on more things. At the same time though also note things you did not know, things that got you more curious. Once you understand that and realize the work I put into this as well as my ability to observe things over the years that you need not worry about deletion in my end.

      Delete this? In an older blog, I still have me mocking pinoys for getting bent out of shape about the sitcom Desperate Housewives making fun of the Philippines. Pinoys too sensitive to know that sitcom stands for situation comedy.

      Are you saying you are more disturbed of my dissing of beauty contests than the state of the country? Peace and order? Allotment of taxpayer money? The despicableness of elected officials? I write about those too. It is you who to choose to glorify a superficial beauty contest. Read my other contributions to this website and tell me I don’t have a big picture appreciation of things. I mince no words. Pinoys flock to the baduy. In TV and in the ballot box. You may prove me there wrong if you want. You can’t and you won’t. When pinoys watch more high brow programming and vote in better people then I will change my scope and my tune. Till that day comes, you have me. I laugh at the idea of deleting this.

      Since you are so confident in characterizing :1) my character 2) my reason to exist 3) the relevance of writing. Then you might as well read everything I wrote in this website and praise or criticize them based on their merit or lack of merit. You were doing OK in the first comment. You should have left it at that.

    2. I agree! Please don’t delete. I’m having fun with this article. It clearly shows the sensitivity of the writer to be that of a 12 year old! Writing a stupid article and then repelling every comments who doesn’t agree. 😛

  21. Masaya lang ang mga pinoy dahil nanalo ang isang kababayan. Kung trip mong maging bitter at magpaka anti-mainstream huwag kang mag-generalize. Hindi ka nakakatuwa at lalong hindi educational ang sinulat mo.

      1. Something superficial and something we don’t normally care about??

        Funny, how you keep on asking about YOUR OPINION!

  22. I just dont know what the damn is wrong with you people. This is really superficial. Ok, some hot babe won some competition, cheer cheer. That’s fine. And then? FAIL-lipinos are too attached to such superficial nonsense.

    Just look at the Newspaper pic at the beginning of this article! The PDAF sh*t is a minor story while some superficial beauty contest is the headline. Superficial people.

    1. Thank you Ruwan for actually reading this. A lot of work and thought went into this regardless of the haters who call me the hater. They just hate logic, facts and reason. This is a starstruck society who has no cerebral material matter left to think. You also hit on the fact that I do like taking snapshots of headlines because that is what is actually there. Headlines are windows to our appetite. What makes us tick. My point exactly, it is depressing. Haters can hate but all they have for me are negative adjectives when I brought them reality. So in a way, they hate themselves by hating me.

  23. I think the significance of Megan Young’s win, as with any similar “Pinoy Pride” thing, is that it represents the Filipino desire to get something for nothing. That’s they’re impression of beauty queens – they’re just born that way, so they’re beautiful already without doing anything. And they get fame, glory and admiration because of it. Filipinos are like that, they believe they’re entitled to fame, glory and admiration without doing anything.

    Also, when manifested with Pinoy Pride, some Filipinos seem to like to trample on other countries. They will immediately say, “Filipinos are superior beauties,” “we’re the best in the world” and all that arrogant baloney. These Filipinos may condemn the US and other countries for imperialism, but the attitude they show is itself imperialism. That is something I believe is called hypocrisy.

  24. Blah blah blah… Too much talking here.. Yeah we get it that your not interested in beauty pageants .. So? That doesnt stop us from embracing beauty pageants. You people need to cool down. All people are different. With different minds and different likes.. Go mind your own lives.

    1. All people are different. Agree with you there. Yet you are defending a cultural phenomena that is strong in this country about conformity to a physical ideal. Which I have stated can be unhealthy to self esteem. A point none of you emos have refuted.

  25. That’s why Miss world is not just about a beauty pageant, its beauty with a purpose. They help people by doing charities around the world. So that’s “Superficial”?. Not all pageants are what you think. You even said you do not watch this things, that’s why you don’t even have any idea what’s behind all this superficial beauty your saying.

    1. Pinoys will chest beat over any beauty contest regardless of purpose. Yes they are superficial because if you can have the most substance but if you don’t fit their body, weight, height , age type you ain’t getting in sweetie.

      1. Hahahah it is truly ironic how Filipinos are so proud of their beauty contests because they believe the Philippines has some of the most beautiful women in the world. However, having said that, what’s truly ironic is that Filipinos fail to see that they discriminate among themselves. For example, they look down on dark-skinned people (I’m dark) and prefers mestiza /mestizo artistas instead of a the Filipinos who are born without any foreign blood. Filipinos praise light-skinned, mixed Filipino breeds but look down on their own, dark-skinned, full breed Filipinos. You’ve brought up a good point and it’s a shame that people keep defending their beauty queens but fail to see the flaw of Filipino pride. This is the first time I read your post and you have gained a new follower!

    2. Uhm… do you know that the winners and contestants of Miss World are doing that FOR SHOW? In front of the camera? Beauty pageants are superficial because they care more about image and looks than kindness, intelligence, and talent.

  26. Honestly, I don’t see why butthurt people defend beauty pageants so much. Wait… I do know. It’s because they act as if they’re the victims and they don’t see anything wrong with taking beauty pageants VERY seriously. Gag. “If you don’t like it then don’t watch it” or “Don’t write about it if you hate it.”

    Dude, it’s an opinion. Only Filipinos take it way too seriously and it’s beyond sad that beauty contests are more important than serious problems.

    Am I the only one who hates beauty pageants with a fiery blazing passion? I’m a woman AND a Filipina and I DESPISE beauty beauty pageants.

    They boring as hell. All you do is watch the girls prance around in bikini, night gown, and answer a question within the time limit.

    I only watch the very end of each pageants when they announce who the winner is. That’s it. After that, no one cares and everyone moves on with their lives.

  27. Good post. I’m reviewing frequently this web site and I am prompted! Very handy details specifically the residual sections 🙂 I manage such information a lot. I’m seeking this kind of info for an extended time. Thanks and also enjoy.

  28. i am superficial and i am shallow… and i don’t give a sh*t…i should know i have been modelling in my younger years… but you know what differs? i am not one of those “dumb” goodlooking people. i may not be crazy intelligent but i am above average. i’m not tooting my horn either, i just don’t believe in false humility.

    to be honest, i am nicer to beautiful people. i have badlooking friends but they don’t get my extra attention compared to my better looking friends. i won’t even bother getting them a present… if they save my life in midst of danger, i’d be thankful forever in my heart, but i don’t see myself hanging around that person. i just don’t. rude? i dunno… i’m being honest.

    …and yes, i run a small biz and i’m nicer to my goodlooking associates compared to the smart ugly peeps…they’re not ugly as heck, as i won’t hire them anyway… just average… not above average. and guilty as i am, there are 3 workers i have who can get away with minor mistakes, just because they’re goodlooking.

    i’m sure quite a number is offended by now… truth hurts

    1. I hope you don’t encounter a really good looking person with a grave criminal intent, discrimination towards looks might kill you.

      I’m on the other end of the spectrum, i experience almost on a daily basis how i as myself is not doing anything, just walking. Someone will shout at me and insult me, this was hurtful at first then years later i decided, i don’t give a f*** and just avoid those people, but i always take note in my mind to respect every people regardless of looks, race, as long as they are not doing any harm because i know how depressing it was, and what if they are not as strong as i am in coping up with it, it my lead to selfharm and i dont want that to happen to me, so i wont make it happen to another person. that is why i’m careful with my words adn actions… and besides categorizing people based on only what you see is the dumbest no brainer thing to do, are you a catholic? because you are shaming your creator for not using that gray matter to make a better view of the world withour superficiality. But if you’re an atheist well…. goodluck with life’s journey

  29. I know this article is two years old now, but I’d like to add something: France BANNED CHILD beauty pageants. If there’s one thing I hate more than beauty pageants for adults, it’s beauty pageants for CHILDREN (like Toddlers and Tiara). I hated those kind of shows because they teach kids how to be shallow. It’s not the kids who want to be in it, it’s the PARENTS living through their children.

    I saw a little girl on YouTube who’s forced to have their eyebrows waxed by their mom and that the child was CRYING.

    Anyway, before I go out of topic, here’s the link to the site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-cruz/the-french-government-ban_b_3958301.html

  30. Hi Gogs,

    My thoughts exactly. Had gone through the comments as well and found it really fascinating that we filos really can’t admit that we are indeed superficial.

    ‘Beauty’ contests in the Philippines are all over the place from kids, to uni students hell, even in the workplace. I reckon it is not based on the premise of fun but rather, the thirst for recognition. What is unforgivable is the fact that parents encourage their kids ‘to be beautiful’ and maybe one day they could join a reality contest (the easy way) and eventually save the entire family out of poverty instead of them having to do the hard way which is through studying (or working your arse out).

    I also believe that we have been ‘white-washed’ into thinking that being fair-skinned or having a lighter skin is more beautiful than wearing the brown (some golden-brown) skin that we really are.

    Good read.

    Cheers!

  31. Nakakatawa.kng ganun kayong mga rightious humans,pag gising nyo wag na kayo mag tootbrush or kng ano pa.pra normal ang appearance.. hypocrisy in its finiest..

  32. Whoever wrote this garbage of an article and reposted this is superficial!! A bitter Killjoy because they do not look as pretty or handsome as others. If you do are not interested in Beauty Contest then just ignore it. You don’t need to DEGRADE all the women who try their best to enter and win competitions like these.

    1. You obviously read two words of the title because the rest were multi syllabic and not worth what was left of your brain cells. I was not degrading women. I was degrading morons who think the opinion of judges like Perez Hilton was worth chest beating. You know what demographic is fixated on beauty pageant trivia? Gay men. Not that there is anything wrong with that but don’t expect me to be one. Don’t expect me to pitch and catch for your team. Once again this nation loves beauty contests and voted in a president only because his mom died. Why not export our IQ to the rest of the world ?

  33. Quote: I don’t get beauty contests. I don’t look forward to them. I don’t watch them. I don’t revel in the victories and I don’t care to keep track of the history. I do get the pinoy obsession with them though. Maybe it takes one to know one and I have never been a beauty. Imelda (there is only one) once said “Between beauty and power, it’s beauty I reach for”. Maybe that traumatized me on the idea of beauty.

    Wow, you don`t care yet you made efforts to write a blog about it and a long one too, complete with photos and you don`t keep track of them?? You are more updated than me and knows more than I do. You do get pinoys obsessions with beauty pageants?? Is it based on surveys which you conducted?? Imelda`s quote MAYBE traumatized you?? I doubt it. You are traumatized because you said you`re not a beauty, that`s you being bitter.

    1. I blog about it because of this nation of weenies that care about this superficial exhibition that is not a competition. A nation so devoid of perspective that they voted in a president only because his mom died. Yeah, nation of geniuses.

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