|
Friday, August 18, 2006
The great beauty contest debate
By Ben O. Tesiorna
BEAUTY pageants have become part of any celebration in the country such that many consider it as part of the Filipino culture that need to be respected and preserved.
There are different beauty pageants one could join depending on the gender or preference. There are beauty pageants for ladies, women, and even grandmothers just as there are pageants for men and gays. But never has there been a pageant that's open for all sexes and with only one category to compete in.
Thus, this year's Hiyas ng Kadayawan became so controversial because its organizers did just that -- a search that is open for all sexes with the sole winner being declared as the "Hiyas."
As expected this kind of a pageant was frowned upon by many officials especially the masculine. City councilor Jesus Zozobrado claimed to have a nightmare one evening where he saw a man being crowned as "Hiyas ng Kadayawan."
"I cannot reconcile the idea that our Hiyas is a man," Zozobrado during the city council's session. Organizers of the said search however said that Hiyas ng Kadayawan is not a traditional beauty pageant but rather a search for the Festival Gem, some kind of a "spokesmodel" for the Mindanao waving, fashion and floral industries, which Kadayawan is promoting.
"With that in mind, male and female can both compete since they will be judged not really on their physical appearance, but based on how well they can carry themselves and showcase the fashion designs and floral accessories made by our designers and artists," said Patmei Ruivivar, chief of staff of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
When Hiyas ng Kadayawan started in 1997 (before the passage of the Women Code), Id Acaylar conceptualized it with both male and female contestants. In 1997 and 1998, the Hiyas competition had both male and female contestants and winners. In succeeding years, there were no male contestants who qualified based on the criteria set.
"Thus, it created an impression that the Hiyas is a 'beauty contest' and that only females should be in it," Ruivivar said.
She said negative reactions to this year's Hiyas ng Kadayawan concept just proves the point of gender advocates that "beauty contests do promote gender bias/inequality because only females should join them."
"And when males do have "beauty contests," they are viewed in a derogatory manner," Ruivivar said.
But even Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is said to be not sold on the idea of a male Hiyas. For this, the mayor's office reportedly advised the organizers of the said pageant to exclude male contestants from the pageant.
But instead of just excluding the male contestants from the pageant, the Kadayawan sa Dabaw Foundation, Inc. and the 12 finalists of the 2006 Hiyas sa Kadayawan contest decided not to push through with the pageant this year.
Kadayawan Foundation Board member Id Acaylar said it would be unfair to exclude the current three men aspirants of the Kadayawan contest as such is gender-free but they could also not defy the orders of Duterte, being the mayor and "father of the city."
"We will not defy the direction of the mayor but we don't also want to sacrifice our principles," Acaylar said.
Acaylar's decision not to push through with the Hiyas ng Kadayawan as a matter of principle however irked Duterte. For this Acaylar was made to resign from his post as City Tourism Officer and Kadayawan Foundation co-chair. Acaylar submitted his irrevocable resignation last August 15.
The City Government meanwhile decided to keep on with the holding of Hiyas but this time without the male contestants.
The controversy over the 2006 Hiyas ng Kadayawan created a lot of questions in the mind of the Dabawenyos. Some people say that beauty pageants must now be stopped since it will only lead to the exploitation of the people who joined such.
Others say not only is it exploitative, but dangerous as well especially after a contestant of a beauty pageant search in a university here was burned alive.
Others meanwhile said beauty pageants are a major part of the Filipino revelries. One that should not be banned but rather protected and preserved.
Others say that beauty pageants should not be restricted to females only. As they reasoned out, beauty is not an exclusive property of women. This kind of philosophy is said to be the driving force behind the inclusion of male and even homosexuals in this year's Hiyas ng Kadayawan. They call it gender equality.
We asked women from different sectors on their opinion on the "battle of the sexes" in this year's Hiyas and here are their opinions:
"It's a novel idea, but one which I do not think respects the differences between the sexes. The same criteria for judging grace and poise for example cannot be used on both men and women. Such attributes would have to be embodied differently by the masculine and feminine, unless we celebrate the androgyny of the metrosexual, which I personally don't," said 1997 Mutya ng Davao Jamby Austria-del Rosario.
"I don't see any problem with that, it's not a beauty pageant anyway. It would be a different story if we have a mix gender for Mutya ng Dabaw. That will be the day na sobrang OA na tayo sa gender equality," ABS-CBN Davao's Christie Navacilla said.
"I am a great supporter of equal rights for both sexes. But in the case of Hiyas, I prefer that this be confined to women participants. Despite the global trends, we have not yet reached that comfort zone where you have both sexes competing for a singular beauty title," businesswoman Joji Ilagan-Bian said.
"I see nothing wrong with the contest. Participants have rights to show their wares as long as they do not appear malicious and that they follow the limitations of the law. Hiyas means jewel, so what's the fuss? I see it as a wholesome event to watch," journalist Editha Caduaya said.
"It will take a while for the public to get accustomed to a gender-free pageant. There should have been a Mr. And Ms. Kadayawan, not a merged pageantry in which we force an issue and let a woman win in the end anyway," said journalist Joji Alcantara.
Many said that Acaylar and his team's objective in making Hiyas gender-free is a laudable effort. Maybe in the future, this idea would be more acceptable. But, it just is not at the present time.
Ruivivar said that if she will have her way, she would opt for the highlighting of the "Urog Etnika", wherein the Hiyas search is but a component, in such a way that it would be more embracing of our diverse peoples and cultures.
"I would like to see models who represent the real people of Davao and Mindanao in all shapes and sizes (after all, we are not all 6-footers with 23-inch waistlines). I would also like to discourage the promotion of a particular standard of "beauty," which is generally unrealistic for the majority of women who do not all look like Margie Moran or Juliana Palermo.
And I would like the celebration of all kinds of beauty, instead of a competition among women," she said.
After all, the use of beautiful young women as "symbols of abstract ideals" is never a Filipino or Dabawenyo tradition. It was traced to ancient Europe where symbolic queens for May Day and other festivities were held.
Ruivivar said beauty contests in their present form started in America to promote business and sell products. Even before then, public protests were already held against such practice. Even middle class society shunned them.
It was only after World War II when beauty pageants became "respectable" when beauty queens were recruited to sell bonds and entertain troops.
"Clearly, that is not a Filipino nor a Dabawenyo tradition that should be promoted and preserved. Indigenous and Muslim women -- the natives of Davao --held great power and did not have to use their faces and bodies to sell products or promote business," Ruivivar said.
No less than Mayor Duterte understands and even shares the gender advocates' stand on beauty contests. During the meeting of the women leaders with Duterte on July 31, 2006 at Grand Men Seng, the mayor said: "I am with you on this issue. I owe it to my mother and my daughters. I do believe that there are beauty contests, which exploit and humiliate women and I do not like that.
However, as the Mayor, I have to look at all sides and base my official actions on what is constitutional and legal. I cannot just impose my own personal views on the City, I must be bound by the legal framework."
The City Council also reached a consensus not to ban beauty contests, but simply to regulate them, as provided in the Women Code.
Councilor Mabel Acosta suggested an amendment to the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Women Code to include securing of permit by organizers of beauty contests from the Mayor's Office and for IGDD to evaluate their objectives, program, and criteria for judging before granting the permit.
And strict monitoring of such contests to make sure that women are not exploited or humiliated. This however does not end the great debate on beauty contests. This is just the beginning.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
