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The Miss Guyana Pageant
Editorial
There is no such thing as the most beautiful woman in the world, let alone
in the universe (always supposing, of course, that out there on some
far-flung planet in the far reaches of the cosmos there really do live
humanoid beings looking very much like ourselves). Scientists now tell us
that across races and cultures we are genetically programmed to
appreciate symmetry where human features are concerned. Having said
that, however, the criteria for determining female pulchritude are also
influenced by the somatic norms of any given group, and by culture. What
may be admired as a beautiful attribute in one part of the planet may be
decried in another.
In trying to compare the incomparable, the Miss World and Miss
Universe contests have limited the female range to a certain type.
(Full-figured women, for example, can forget it.) They also favour
participants with a certain stage presence, some fluency of utterance, a
little savoir faire and a bent for social work. No one has grasped the
requirements better than the Venezuelans, who have applied science to
the problem, and have actually set up a school for potential contestants
who are specially identified for training to win international beauty
competitions. They have been rewarded for their efforts by an unusually
high number of placements in the finals, not to mention some crowns.
Undeterred by the limitations of these pageants, Guyana is now back on
the beauty bandwagon after a hiatus of several years. Whatever the merits
or demerits of the decision, one would have hoped that since the Miss
Universe is an international contest, the local leg would have been
handled with some efficiency. Not so. From the moment it was announced
that the winner would be Guyana's entrant for the Miss Universe, and the
first runner up would enter the Miss World, and this announcement was
then contradicted, things went seriously awry.
The first committee which was presented to the public as managing the
Miss Guyana Pageant, soon melted away, leaving the promoter to his own
devices until he managed to recruit two others to assist him. Then there
was a virtual flurry of mini-fiascos surrounding the visit of the reigning
Miss Universe, Miss Wendy Fitzwilliam, here, culminating in the major
fiasco of a public dinner at the New Thriving honouring her, which never
took place. In order to save the nation's reputation, Banks DIH stepped
in at the final moment and funded a private dinner at the Water Chris
instead. The Government too attempted to retrieve the situation
somewhat by dispatching a clutch of ministers to lend the occasion a sense
of importance. In the end, however, as far as most Guyanese were
concerned, Miss Fitzwilliam slunk in and out of the country virtually
unnoticed.
Not surprisingly, with all of this muddle going on, major corporate entities
could not be persuaded to sponsor any of the girls, although they did all
find sponsors eventually. The ultimate disaster, however, was the Miss
Guyana contest itself, arranged hurriedly, according to form, at the
Cultural Centre. It was a night of shame for all Guyanese. The audience
behaved so disgracefully, so crudely and so offensively that that alone is
reason enough to decide that we should abandon all thought of future
participation in such contests. Sections of the crowd insulted some of the
girls on stage, and worse yet, insulted the judges, one of whom was a
distinguished foreign diplomat.
Participation in an international event of any kind presupposes that we will
meet the standards of management that are required, and that we will
adhere to the protocols. If in the case of the Miss Universe contest we
demonstrate that we cannot either manage effectively or adhere to the
norms of civility during a public stage performance, then we should forget
about beauty competitions altogether, and let the international pageants
do without us.
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