Rachael Finch: beauty in the spotlight
April 22nd 2009 19:11
Rachael Finch
It was all glamour and glitter at the Sydney Hilton last night as a host of beautiful young women paraded before the Miss Universe Australia judges, and a host of less beautiful, less young people asked the perennial question — are beauty pageants outdated?
Last year's winner, Laura Dundovic, doesn't think so. As evidence, she pointed to the stellar career of the 2004 winner, Jennifer Hawkins, who went on the win the Miss Universe World title and then scored a lucrative contract promoting the Myer retail chain.
It is not entirely clear how this addresses beauty pageant concerns, and begs questions as to the legitimacy of the efforts of lesser achievers.
This year's Australian winner and bigger stage hopeful is Rachael Finch, a 20-year-old model, TV presenter and Australian Heart Foundation ambasador from Townsville.
She won despite, on being asked what she considered the greatest challenges facing the national government, answering "a variety of things". Upon further reflection, she settled on "healthy living".
"Defining recession" may have been a better stab, but Finch was unfazed by being human and less than perfect. "I just did the best I could," she said after the ceremony.
She won more than A$25,000 in prizes, and now heads to the Bahamas in August for the Miss Universe World finals.
theaustralian.news.com.au; image: townsvillebulletin.com.au
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i have a bit of an issue with child pagents though, i think it teaches children it is ok to rest on their looks before they have a chance to form their own identity
Comment by Chris Champion
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That sums it up perfectly. Claims of exploitation are pretty shallow when it's legal and involves adults. Claims of exploitation are much deeper when children are involved.
Comment by Janet Collins
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Comment by Chris Champion
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The analogy with singing and dancing shows is a good one. At the core, these are all about business - existing business for the presenters and potential business for the contestants.
The good thing about the singing and dancing, however, is that the contestants actually have a skill and aren't made to answer curly questions.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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age 19
180cm
49kg
Really Long Link
Comment by Chris Champion
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"This girl has Macedonian heritage and if you had been there you would know it is a Macedonian body type," she said.
"They have long, lithe bodies and small bones. It is their body type. So she does not have an eating disorder."
But nutritionist Susie Burrell said there was no such Macedonian body type.
"There is no evidence published anywhere to back up that assertion," she said.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Chris Champion
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I happen to visit the Australian Ballet School pretty regularly, and know a bit about how the school goes about the business of selecting, training and mentoring the next generation of professional dancers.
They monitor many things, but weight is particularly high on the list of things to watch.
Just as in the beauty pageant "profession", being trim is essential in professional dance, but I can tell you that if Stephanie Naumoska walked into the Australian Ballet School looking like she does in the photograph above, they would offer her counselling and nothing more. It wouldn't matter how good a dancer she was, she would never be allowed in a dance studio, let alone on a stage, until she gained some weight.
That's a level of professionalism, and ethical responsibility, which the organisers of the Miss Universe event can learn from.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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and really it makes sense to me, dance is about strength and balance, not muscle wasting