Oh God I'm going to puke

[ismnotwasm]

This beauty queen must be fit, feminine — and a good shot
Miss Liberty America must also know CPR and the Constitution

Swimsuit? Check. Evening gown? Check. Gun — huh?

At first glance, the Miss Liberty America pageant looks like any other scholarship pageant going out there. However, its odd requirements — like needing to be CPR-certified, proficient with firearms, and able to converse about historic American documents — make it sound more like a program for young Sarah Palins-in-training or mama grizzlies-to-be.

And that’s something its founder, Alicia Hayes-Roberts, is perfectly OK with. “It is absolutely a beauty pageant,” she told TODAYshow.com, “filled with elite, feminine patriots.”



http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39965434/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty?gt1=43001

Fuck.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

1. i just might puke too

Along with everything else tonight.....

[ismnotwasm]

2. Seriously!

It's all just way too much. I'm going to bed and pretend I don't live in a world that elects creeps like Rand Paul and with women thinking swimsuit contests and guns is just okey dokey. They'll probably have a swimsuit contest WITH guns. Oh, now I'm even sicker.

[bliss_eternal]

3. shit...

...that really makes my head hurt. :( i'm so depressed right now. what the bloody hell is going on?

every news broadcast of election results, showed right wingers--just SO friggin' excited, at the prospect of taking the country back a century, or so. while allowing the new minority elects, to do their heavy lifting. (see link below). apparently, they missed the memos about republican tokenism, in the 21st century. :eyes:



Minorities ride GOP wave to historic victories
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/3/minorities-ride-gop-wave-historic-victories/


:cry::( :mad:

[ismnotwasm]

6. "Color is less of an issue"

That's an interesting assessment. What percentage of of blacks and Latinos are in prison again? Graduating from college? Making a living wage? Are in congress? Own business? Have access to consistent health care that is attentive to minority health care needs and issues? Have any kind of real power?

Oh yeah. It's still mostly white dudes.

Becoming conservative seems to be part of having a few more bucks than most. Repukes fuck up EVERYTHING progressives have won. From sexism to racism this presumably co-opting minority opinion = "Look we likes them just fine! We elected one didn't we?" or "That woman can shoot and knows how to vote. And she's HAWT"

I fucking HATE repukes.

[BlueIris]

4. Swimsuit, evening gown and gun. So American. nt

[bliss_eternal]

5. what, no baking apple pie....

competition? (smirk)

[bliss_eternal]

7. I have a question...

...and I apologize if this is redundant, but what is their deal with feminity? :shrug:

[ismnotwasm]

9. All that bearin' of arms might build muscles

Thus threatening the boys bearin' arms' masculinity. Can't step on the toes of the boys, they get insecure and start calling women names, like, oh, like 'dyke' or 'feminazi'

[jmm]

8. The second amendment allows people to keep and bear arms, it does not require it.

If this pageant really gave a damn about their contestants being able to converse about historic American documents then they would know that and wouldn't require them to be proficient with firearms.

Most of the bill of rights has to do with the rights of people accused of crimes. I might buy the whole this isn't a Tea Party pageant argument if they made the winners volunteer with organizations like The Innocence Project and but so much focus on one amendment.

[ThomCat]

10. If they really think these pageants are such a wonderful thing

then why won't they hold any pageants for their sons?

I'm sure they have son's that can shoot straight, learn CPR, repeat talking points about about the 2nd amendment, model the latest tuxedos, and strut around in swimming trunks on a stage. Are young woman doing anything in these pageants that young men couldn't do?

I'm sure they'd find young men willing to compete for the same scholarships and cash prizes.

A swim suit competition all by itself guarantees they could find an audience. Gorgeous nearly naked men to ogle. It's not like that would be hard to sell.

But they won't do it. Why?

They are willing to have a pageant bend gender norms just a little bit by requiring women to perform some typically male activities. But they aren't willing to go any further. Having men in a pageant would apparently be too much?

[ismnotwasm]

11. I have a Muslim friend

From The Gambia. The have traditional male beauty contests over there, which just goes to show how back-wards the US really is. And you hit on one of my pet peeves. There is nothing wrong with beauty, there is something wrong with prostitution disguised as a beauty contest, which is what US ones amount to. A great way to even it out is to have all gender contests, as a way to admire, not to exploit.

[ThomCat]

12. I don't know enough about Gambia.

The immediate questions that come to my head are:

Gambia is a Muslim nation, correct? I had to go look that up to check. Yes, 90% Muslim, though they don't have an official state religion. Politically repressive to, with canceled elections and extremely limited freedom of speech.

They also have a big disparity in the education of girls vs boys. 40% of students in urban areas. Less in rural, overall literacy rate is estimated at only 32% for girls by age 15. 20% of schools are Koranic schools, all-male.

So is the culture there a conservative one one where women could not be seen in a pageant because women aren't supposed to be displayed in public? Seems so. In those circumstances, would pageants for boys be breaking gender norms, or is that be their way of displaying gender norms.

Just because a pageant for men could be a way of breaking gender-normative behavior here, doesn't mean that it has that same value or effect elsewhere. :shrug:

[ismnotwasm]

13. All true

And I should have been clearer that this was a 'traditional' contest. I can't find the original article, but is was very cute, with a number of young women in colorful, graceful Islamic dress (No burkas!) giggling and enjoying themselves. (I'll ask my friend at work to find it for me)

It wasn't perhaps the best example, but it's one I find interesting, mostly because of it's innocence, and I don't mean lack of sexuality, I mean a way of admiring minus the kind of bloated, unhealthy sexual baggage we have over here.

My friend, who is from there is a liberal Muslim who does much to educate me on the difference between what is typical government manipulation of religion and people vs what his (he's very devout) religion actually means to what he would consider the 'average' Muslim. I tease him all the time about being male and masculinity and he's very good natured about it. (He made the mistake of referring the taking care of his son as 'babysitting' one time in front of me and I've been having fun ever since) In his world a Muslim man holds a lot of responsibility and respect to his family and his wife, his way of looking at the Koran is that of a spiritual guide. He despises the Bush regiman. He understands women need equality and protection.

The plight of the Gambian people is one that's repeated throughout many countries in Africa--the fighting off of the effects of colonialism with the subsequent poverty, The attempts (largely successful) to democratize amid coups- they had government mandated education without resources to back it up according to Wiki. And now they have a wingnut 'President' to God knows what's going to happen

Some interesting links

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gEL79smZcLs4MRXUmFIBa89IQ_VA?docId=f9d36d8d4fbc442fbb4e2cfc151623fa
http://www.gambia.dk/gam.html
http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GMB.html