Miss World farce: Why must beauty go with brains?

Beauty pageants are not just about beauty, but brains too! Oh please, stop this nonsense.

As Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016 on Sunday (December 18), the audience went through the rigmarole of tolerating a bunch of beautiful young women fighting hard to “showcase” that they have the best brains (too).

Okay, we agree that the feminist stand about such pageants objectifying women may have become outdated. We also agree (and strongly believe) that there is nothing wrong in appreciating beauty or showcasing talent.

But why do we have to play along with the lie that such pageants are adjudged on the basis of “best brain” as well? And based on what — the “most rehearsed and pretentious” answers to equally expected questions?

So much so that it’s difficult to remember who said what and why. All questions elicit answers woven around the keywords peace, love, justice, underprivileged, education and saving the planet.

The freshly crowned Del Valle, too, mouthed the keywords with ease as she was asked what she would like to change about the world, given an opportunity. Her answer: “If I have the opportunity to change something about the world, I think what I would do is send a message of how important it is to change exclusion for acceptance, to promote and provide justice for others, and the importance of helping those in need. Thank you.” How profound!

By the way, the 19-year-old brown-eyed brunette who speaks Spanish, English and French, hopes to get into the entertainment industry.

Often accused of objectifying women, contest organisers of various events have been trying their best to prove that it’s not just about showing off women’s body or how beautiful they look.

In 2014, the organisers of the Miss World pageant announced to do away with the hugely popular swimsuit round. They felt that the round was archaic and unnecessary. The pageant had earlier elected not to broadcast the bikini portion of the show in the preceding years, judging the girls privately in front of a small panel instead.

However, other coveted events, including Miss Universe and Miss India, are yet to take such a stand against the sexist bikini round.

But is the decision of Miss World owners enough to prove that a woman’s body is not a thing to be enjoyed and judged?

The world needs to understand that there is nothing wrong in being beautiful or appreciating beauty. There is no need to be apologetic and link all that to IQ.

And if you really want to test IQ, include brain-busting problems on logical reasoning, maths, science and history, and not just some lame questions leading to a most-generous-compassionate-poor-and-planet-friendly answer.

Also read: Why the law can't prohibit women from participating in beauty pageants