“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart” – Helen Keller

There's a post feminist wave already coming up and truth be told I do believe in some of their beliefs. The reason why the mission vision of the pageant changed is lack of role models for girls. Who do we have that are always on the papers or the internet? Lindsay Lohan? I recall there was a time when you asked children what they wanted to be when they grow up and they'd answer 'Doctor', 'Teacher'...when I got to Paniqui the first time I asked that question, the little girl aged 5, with her youthful wisdom replied 'Gusto kong maging Sex Bomb Dancer'.

I am just thinking about the young girls of our town. Who can they look up to aside from the local TV celebrities? Why can't we use this pageant as a catalyst to show them that there are good models for them to emulate? We spend so much on this project yet what do we have to show for it? Di ba pwedeng lagyan ng substance? You might as well use this as an instrument to do well.

Things have changed. Maybe during your mothers and sisters time there was no need to have this catalyst for good female role models because it was easier for women then. There were different expectations.

In our current economic crisis, women face so many situations. The obligation to nurture the children AND maintain a job, with the loss of moral values make their children harder to handle and there are a growing number of single female parents as well. Women need more strength, they need a support system and we as the pageant can provide that. The program of Bb. Paniqui hopes to prepare them for adulthood in this demanding century.

There are several consequences of putting so much emphasis on the physical aspect of beauty.  Rates of teenage depression, teenage sexual activity, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, suicide and rape are going up consistently over the years. Why?

The answer I mention is a quote from a report:

“Under-represented, women are equally misrepresented: the hypersexualization of very young girls, most notably in fashion and advertising, is a disturbing trend given that these stereoypes make up most of the representations of themselves which girls and women see in TV, internet and other forms of ads.”

“Shawn Doherty and Nadine Joseph note, those who continue to consume media images are strongly influenced "by stereotypical images of uniformly beautiful, obsessively thin and scantily dressed objects of male desire. And studies show that girls who are frequent viewers have the most negative opinion of their gender."

There is no such thing as a perfect body and perfect beauty. Many women have become addicted to plastic surgery and other procedures trying to look like Megan Fox. Can anyone else look like Megan Fox other than Megan Fox? Come to think of it, isn't Megan Fox trying to look like Angelina Jolie?

I'm not taking away the physical 'beauty' aspect entirely in fact we do acknowledge it is powerful. These candidates are mostly in their teens and unable to see how powerful it is to be beautiful so much so that many want to put them down. If they're pretty, they're assumed to be dumb. When someone points out that they're smart, they're assumed to be ugly. Is that right?

Being a mother of 6 I saw the lack of nourishment towards the intangibles in the pageant. Intelligence, compassion, strength and character were totally forgotten. I believe strongly that the past three years our queens:

Bb. Paniqui Kaysha Anne Valerio 2008
Bb. Paniqui Kailah Quirante 2009
Bb. Paniqui Jackie Mapanao 2010

They are all both beautiful on the outside AND the inside.

Our runners up are mostly scholars, required to keep an average of at least 85 AND physically beautiful. We've proven we can have both.  We would like to bring focus on the intangibles, humility, intelligence, integrity, dignity, compassion and grace because this is what our municipality needs.

I think what triggered this question was someone saying na wala ng bibili ng ticket sa pageant kung wala ng swimsuit competition. I find that to be an insult to our constituents to the point I got quasi upset. Is that how shallow our people are? I refuse to accept that. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT the town that produced several of the greatest Filipino leaders and our first female President see the women of our town in that manner alone. And if someone does, I say for shame.

So far the answers I have gotten are: Tradition and ‘ALL pageants have to show some flesh’.

My answers:

1. Traditions can be broken especially if it is for the good of the people. E.G. It was a tradition not to make women vote during the 1800's.  It was tradition to not allow women inside libraries and coffeeshops where men would discuss current events.  It was also traditional to arrange marriages for women to men deemed able to alleviate the economic and social standing of a family.

In both these cases I’m glad tradition was broken.

2.  All pageants have to show flesh?  It all depends on the Pageants Mission Vision.  Pageants originally to paraded people in richly elegant costumes that depict history. Swimsuits were introduced during the 1950's due to sponsorship issues. The women were used to sell Catalina swimwear and to boost ticket sales from men.

In our local government run pageant, we see the candidates doing civic work, attending workshops and seminars, long gowns, casual wear, answer questions under a nerve wracking situation and swimsuits.  

For a Municipal Run Pageant whose mission vision is:

To ensure the youth of Paniqui that there are women role models who do not rely on their physical attributes ALONE to be thought of as accomplished, beautiful, women of integrity and dignity.

Another point:  I find funny that if the swimsuit category is so important, why have I never seen a Bb. Paniqui or Miss Paniqui for that matter greet or meet foreign or local dignitaries in a swimsuit.

If you want to see flesh, there are numerous bikini opens that show flesh.  If you want to see fantabulous third gender representatives, there are numerous Ms. Gay competitions.  They are loyal to the concepts of their pageants.  In our LGU organized pageant, the concept of the mission vision sadly does not tie up with its execution because of ‘tradition’, an ill conceived notion that no one will buy tickets to the pageant if there’s no swimsuit category and because ALL pageants have to show some flesh. My question to everyone is: Do you need to see a woman in a swimsuit before you can decide she is beautiful?

:This article is not the opinion of all Bb. Paniqui committee members.  The writer claims sole responsibility for the possible outcome of this post: