By Melville Cooke, ContributorThis is the crowning of the browning
- Frankie Paul
THE MISS Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe contests are the most glamorous forms of racial prejudice in this country. Every year, at least in the case of the former, the 14 parishes are culled for the fairest beauties who would care to enter and, at the end of the day, one is selected to ask the world: "How close have we come to aping the white standard of beauty?"
Whenever I ask how comes we select light-skinned, straight-nosed women with high cheekbones to enter these Miss Whatever contests, the standard response is that we are meeting an international standard. When I question this "international standard", I often get the standard "here goes that fool-fool boy again" look and am basically told to wake up and smell the coffee.
Well, that there coffee smells like sewage water to me. We are a country where 10 minutes on any major road - and quite a few minor ones as well -will be blessed by the presence of at least one woman who will make the sky seem clearer, the mountains sharper and refine the air into a heady concentration of oxygen. And we feel that we have to confirm to this "international standard", where our representative must be as far away from black as possible.
When I look at Jamaican women, I do declare that the world should be conforming to our standard.
It is not only a matter of skin colour, as the selection of a Wendy Fitzwiliam as Ms. Universe does not impress me. It is also the features - the thick lips, the big nose, the not so high cheekbones. Even when the successful contestant, whether in Jamaica or on the world stage, is of a darker than usual hue, the features are a firm reminder to non-Caucasian women that a tan is fine, but a pug nose is not.
It is accepted sometimes in modelling, but it is accepted that this is an exotic look and certainly not the norm.
And the natural black woman's hair is definitely not "international standard". An essential part of the image is the hair bouncing on the shoulders, twirling at the turn (like those shampoo ads), catching the light just right. Nappy hair just don't do that.
I am, of course open to correction.
Every time there is a Miss Jamaica or Miss Universe contest and there are hordes of women howling or hooting in the audience, or examining the picture of the winner in the newspapers, we drive another nail into the coffin of the self-esteem of another generation of black women. We, in effect, say to them, "you will never be that princess in the fairytale".
The curious thing is that this year quite a few of the "brownings" in the Miss Jamaica contest have said that they are a part of the competition because they want to gain self-confidence. It seems to be some sort of stock response - but I believe them. Striving to meet the "international standard" is as harrowing for those who are close to it as those who are far away.
The "brownings" are not ugly. Certainly not. Them there are some lovely lasses. But we cannot continue to judge the physical beauty of non-Caucasian women by how far away they are from the physical characteristics of their race. Because this is a truly international phenomenon. If you don't believe me, when the next Miss World contest comes around, look at those pictures of the congenial contestants smiling together and play spot the difference.
It is as if they created a mould at Miss World HQ and sent it out to all the countries which enter.
The Miss World and Miss Universe contests are glorified heifer shows, anyway. Beauty with a purpose my backfoot; if intelligence were a true criterion, they would have a written test on world affairs, not answer one question to prove that the cow can talk. Beauty contests are flesh feasts, anyway you cut it.
Some of them happen to be intelligent, but that is a sidebar to the main story.
(As a sidebar to this story, this "Miss Whatever" look is accepted to the extent that the public face of major corporations in this country - at least in most of the ads and public relations females I have seen - are straight-nosed brownings. Check it.)
And I really, really hope that someone doesn't write in to say that the women with dark skin, thick lips etc. do not enter the Miss Jamaica eliminations. Why enter to be humiliated and told you are ugly, go home and ask your parents why they did not choose someone of a lighter hue to "carry them off"?
Whoever Miss Jamaica World or Miss Jamaica Universe is, she sure as heck does not represent me.
A few weeks ago, some male and female models were run on the same page in a Gleaner publication. At first glance, I thought it was all women.
Hi Merle, sorry Earl
Can't tell the boys
different from the girls
- Snagga Puss
Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
