| OF BEAUTY QUEENS AND MACHO MEN |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Tuesday, June 21 2005 |
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| About 1 billion people around the world watched as Miss Canada, Natalie Glebova, was crowned Miss Universe 2005 a few weeks ago. But millions of Latin Americans were disappointed that the crown did not go to one of their own. After all, the other four finalists were all from Latin America: Miss Mexico, Miss Venezuela, Miss Dominican Republic and Miss Puerto Rico.
And it's no coincidence. Almost every year since the beauty pageant began in 1952, Latin American women have figured prominently in the event. As a matter of fact, 17 Latin beauties have been crowned Miss Universe that's more than from any other part of the world. Europe has taken the crown 11 times, Asia and the United States seven times each.
So, could it be something in the water that makes Latin American women so beautiful? Maybe it's the tropical climate of the Caribbean, the richness of the area's natural resources, or it could be something in their genes: an inheritance of the sculptured beauty of indigenous women, or the result of the mestizaje, a mixture of their Indian and European ancestries.
It could be all of those things, but then again, we have to consider the cult of beauty that exists in so many Latin American countries, where beauty pageants are almost as important as soccer tournaments. Almost. Nowhere is beauty as inherent to a society as in Venezuela, where, according to some studies, people spend one-fifth of their income on beauty products or procedures. That's saying a lot when you consider that 70 percent of Venezuelans live below the poverty level.
In Venezuela and Colombia, as well as several other Latin American countries, becoming a beauty queen is a lifelong dream for thousands of young girls. It's not surprising to find beauty schools that start their training at age 5. Sadly, little girls in Latin America are learning how to take care of their skin, walk down a runway and pose for a picture before they learn how to read and write. By the time they figure out how to put makeup on and get their hair straightened, they're gearing up for the next step: plastic surgery.
There are no official statistics, but plastic surgery has proliferated in Latin America as it has in the United States to become a multimillion-dollar industry. Physical appearance has become a status symbol that determines success. Instead of relying on nature, it is natural nowadays for teenage girls as young as 14 to get nose jobs. When they consider their bodies fully developed, many begin the process of perfecting them through breast augmentation, liposuction or maybe even reshaping their derrières.
Unfortunately, these Latin beauties are from countries where machismo is the law of the land, and women continue to be discriminated against and exploited. Women do not have the same opportunities in education and labor that men do, and those already in the work force receive lower salaries than their male counterparts.
There are dozens of Web sites from Ecuador to Costa Rica that promote Latin beauties, either for sex tourism or to find a nice, obedient, dedicated, loyal and beautiful wife. Yet most Latin American countries have weak laws against domestic violence. In some parts of Mexico, for example, there are stiffer penalties for stealing a cow than for raping a woman.
As the international beauty titles continue to mount for Latin American women, and little girls continue to set their goals on crowns rather than on books, societies in the region should also move forward in granting women equal rights. Let's hope that the level of admiration for a woman's beauty in Latin America will one day translate into more respect for her gender. |
