Miss Isle of Man

[The Voice of Reason]

Well if ladies want to go in for this sort of thing who is anybody to stop them?

I am not sure you could have some sort of hybrid scoring arrangement where both looks, and say charitable works and personal achievements are taken into account. 
What if you had a particularly physically unattractive lady who had done lots for the community of the Island. What weight would you give to each characteristic?
Similarly you could have a real stunner who has just sat on her backside doing bugger all.

You have your Mr Universe, your beard grower of the year and other such things celebrating the masculine form. Is this objectification?
 

And what if you had a transsexual women who wanted to enter said competition? (On second thoughts let’s not go there)

 

[The Phantom]

42 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Have they though? No different from any of the bodybuilding or fitness physique shows, which seem to be getting ever more popular. 

Or is it just to avoid offending fat ugly people?

Nobody is forced to enter these things and if Instagram and Onlyfans are anything to go by, people are more than willing to show-off. 

[HelmutX]

In my eyes, a beautiful gal is a great vision.

However it might be construed that these tournaments encourage misogyny. Yeah, it does (even but sublimely)

I wish her/them well.

[The Phantom]

We are genetically hardwired to find people attractive who would most likely create healthy children and be able to protect and provide for them.

Generally this would be the fit, strong, healthy, beautiful or more recently; the rich and powerful (you can buy health, education and protection).   In this instance, I’m using ‘fit’ in all its connotations – slang, athletic or Darwininan (most adaptable).

Alternatively, it’s the appreciation of the effort and skill that has gone into turning yourself into a beautiful specimen.  This grates me when we are told to find plus size models attractive – at least you can appreciate the effort ‘normal’ models put into exercising, eating healthily (or even starving yourself requires some mental fortitude).  Versus just sitting on the sofa eating cake and expecting people to worship you for this.

[2112]

1 hour ago, The Phantom said:

Have they though? No different from any of the bodybuilding or fitness physique shows, which seem to be getting ever more popular. 

No they haven’t had their day but they aren’t as popular or publicised as they used to be, in their heyday. Miss World used to be televised, now it’s rarely mentioned. You are right as regards to bodybuilding and fitness shows. I have no issue with beauty pageants (Miss IOM etc) but I don’t think it’s a good idea to do a new contest here. Times have changed, but unfortunately our politicos and powers that be running this island haven’t. 

[Lilly]

13 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

 

 

You have your Mr Universe, your beard grower of the year and other such things celebrating the masculine form. Is this objectification?
 

 

 

Actually, l think DBC may rather surprise us with a contender; l know l got a shock, albeit a pleasant one. Am l allowed to comment these days with all the politically correctness?  Sorry, l will enlighten you.   A very pleasingly to look DBC traffic warden was surveying an array of poorly parked cars, ready to pounce with commanding confidence, this DBC parking attendant, or maybe it was just a man in fancy dress. Very different from the usual. 😄 

 

 

 

[Roger Mexico]

26 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Alternatively, it’s the appreciation of the effort and skill that has gone into turning yourself into a beautiful specimen.  This grates me when we are told to find plus size models attractive – at least you can appreciate the effort ‘normal’ models put into exercising, eating healthily (or even starving yourself requires some mental fortitude).  Versus just sitting on the sofa eating cake and expecting people to worship you for this.

But the ability to put on fat in bountiful times so as to see you through lean ones, is a much more obvious way of showing evolutionary fitness than starving yourself.  It's a bit difficult producing offspring if you died of hunger last year.  So in most societies in most times, being plus side has been seen as a plus.

[The Phantom]

1 minute ago, Roger Mexico said:

But the ability to put on fat in bountiful times so as to see you through lean ones, is a much more obvious way of showing evolutionary fitness than starving yourself.  It's a bit difficult producing offspring if you died of hunger last year.  So in most societies in most times, being plus side has been seen as a plus.

You're not wrong.  Certain ethnic groups have evolutionarily evolved for these feast or famine scenarios, specifically the Polynesians. 

The European climate doesn't really have famines etc, so maybe that's why 'we' now veer towards the thin?   Although there is curvy versus obese to also consider. 

[Non-Believer]

4 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

The European climate doesn't really have famines etc

No, but IoMG is busy creating the effects of one on its own population 😂

[Gladys]

28 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

You're not wrong.  Certain ethnic groups have evolutionarily evolved for these feast or famine scenarios, specifically the Polynesians. 

The European climate doesn't really have famines etc, so maybe that's why 'we' now veer towards the thin?   Although there is curvy versus obese to also consider. 

You only have to look at the classic and renaissance art depicting nude ladies with quite a bit of podge.  It was recognised as a good thing and so beautiful, i.e., desirable.

[WTF]

6 minutes ago, Gladys said:

You only have to look at the classic and renaissance art depicting nude ladies with quite a bit of podge.  It was recognised as a good thing and so beautiful, i.e., desirable.

it makes you wonder why catwalk models are mostly stick insects.

[Gladys]

4 minutes ago, WTF said:

it makes you wonder why catwalk models are mostly stick insects.

Probably because food became cheaper and more available, so fat became viewed as a sign of over indulgence rather than 'saving for a rainy day' or a sign of wealth by being able to eat well and not have to work to work it off. 

[La Colombe]

29 minutes ago, WTF said:

it makes you wonder why catwalk models are mostly stick insects.

I read somewhere that that is the look preferred by the gay male fashion nazis. 

[La Colombe]

Mind you, that might have been written by Julie Birchill now I think about it. 

[Roger Mexico]

4 hours ago, Gladys said:

Probably because food became cheaper and more available, so fat became viewed as a sign of over indulgence rather than 'saving for a rainy day' or a sign of wealth by being able to eat well and not have to work to work it off. 

There's something in that, though unnatural body shapes as an ideal go back for much longer.  Think of those tiny, corseted waists of the Edwardian period.  Again the point is that such appearances take a lot of money and effort.  Similarly tans became fashionable only in the 1920s when they became the mark of someone who had the leisure time to spend Summer on the beach.  previously they would have indicated a peasant, but now the vast majority of workers were in town and factories and pale skinned.

But even up to the 1950s fashion models, actresses, pin-ups and the like were still full-figured.  What happened was the baby-boomers.  The sheer number of them and their disposable income, coupled with mass clothes manufacturing, suddenly meant that the person clothes were being sold to became a teenager, rather than a mature woman.  And that's the way the fashion ideal has stayed ever since, very young and very skinny.