TMCnet News
A two-piece for world peace?(Business Day (South Africa) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) A two-piece for world peace? After 50 years of bikinis, ribbon-cutting and controversy, the Miss SA pageant is ageing well, says IT HAS been 50 years since the first young woman, Norma Vorster, was named Miss SA. In those 50 years, the country has undergone a complete transformation, its political and social landscape has changed, the role of women has changed but the pageant's format has remained more or less the same: there is the controversial bathing suit section, the evening wear section and, of course, the question section. Even as beauty pageants around the world decline in popularity, the brand that is Miss SA remains strong. Looking back, it was the titleholders who managed to use their crowns to further their careers and keep the tradition alive, but not without controversy. Originally, the pageant was open only to white women. That exclusion ended in 1978 but still no black women became finalists. This partiality resulted in SA being banned from international pageants between 1978 and 1990. Amy Kleinhans was the first to break the colour bar in 1992, while Jacqui Mofokeng was the first black woman to win a year later. The expectation today is that during her reign Miss SA will represent the country at the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. There will be promotional work and celebrity appearances, she will travel locally and abroad, she will meet dignitaries, celebrities, the privileged, the underprivileged, the sick and the needy. In short, she will try save to the world and that's only in her first week. Already this year's finalists, when asked to name their favourite things, came up with these gems: the prospective 2010 Soccer World Cup, orchids, perfectly fitting jeans, flawless skin, information and life. And as for the absolutely awful things in the world: bad breath, a flat tyre, superficial people, overconfident men, anything past its expiry date and, of course, AIDS and teenage pregnancy. It's difficult to laugh at these young hopefuls when one investigates the prizes a winner can expect. Where once Miss SA would get a rose named after her, today's prizes would prompt any pageant sceptic to try on a bathing suit. Miss SA 2006 received a cash prize of R50000, a Land Rover, clothing and food vouchers and even Tanzanite jewellery. According to Wikipedia, choosing symbolic kings and queens for festivities is an ancient custom in Europe in which beautiful young women symbolise their nation's virtues. The first modern American pageant was staged by PT Barnum in 1854 and he substituted daguerreotypes for judging, a practice adopted by newspapers. Newspapers held photo beauty contests for decades in 1880, the first Bathing Beauty Pageant took place to promote business in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Contests became a part of summer beach life. The modern beauty pageant's origin is traceable to the Miss America Pageant, which was first held in Atlantic City in 1921, under the title Inter-City Beauty Contest. The pageant included preliminary eliminations, an evening gown competition, musical variety shows and judging by a panel. However, the contest was at first shunned by the middle-class. Pageants did not become respectable until the Second World War, when beauty queens were recruited to sell bonds and entertain troops. Scholarships and talent competitions evoked closer scrutiny of contestants' morals and backgrounds. Before the 1950s in SA, most major pageants were organised by magazines and newspapers, and for many years by the Wool Board, but none of them was officially recognised as a Miss SA pageant. The 1950s saw the birth of two large international competitions Miss World and Miss Universe and South African beauties began to compete internationally. Penelope Anne Coelen entered Miss SA in 1957 and placed fifth. She re-entered in 1958 and won the Miss SA crown. She followed this with a global victory when she walked away with the Miss World title in 1958. Coelen was SA's first Miss World and today she is still recognised as one of the country's most glamorous icons. In 1970, Pearl Jansen from Bonteheuwel on the Cape Flats represented blacks in the Miss World contest as Miss Africa South. She was chosen as first runner-up while her white South African counterpart, Jillian Jessup, was placed fifth. Jansen was the first woman to be crowned Miss Africa South and the first to represent blacks in Miss World or any other international competition. The following year, Monica Fairall, the reigning white Miss SA, called for an all-race get- together to choose a nonracial Miss SA to represent the country in future Miss World competitions but to no avail. SA continued to send two representatives, one black and one white. In 1974, Anneline Kriel was crowned Miss SA and she, too, went on to become Miss World, although not as a direct result of winning the contest. Kriel finished second in the contest to the UK's Helen Morgan, who resigned her title after only four days due to the uproar over her status as an unmarried mother and being named as the other woman in a divorce case. Kriel's angelic blonde looks and high moral standards captured world attention. She is one of the most well-remembered and idolised Miss SAs. In 1975, Miss SA winner Vera Johns was declared ineligible to compete in Miss World due to residency requirements, as she was a former Miss Rhodesia. First princess Crystal Cooper refused to compete at Miss World unless she was awarded the Miss SA title and prizes, so second runner-up Rhoda Rademeyer competed at Miss World 1975 and only placed among the 15 semifinalists. Yolanda Kloppers was crowned Miss SA in 1978 but it was Margaret Gardiner who managed to gain entrance to Miss Universe in Mexico City. Gardiner went on to win the title, and remains the only South African to have done so, though Cindy Nell, Miss SA 2003, was a strong contender as first runner-up. Miss SA 1985, Andrea Stelzer, used her German ancestry to gain access to the Miss World Pageant. In 1989 she won Miss Germany but did not place in Miss World. Janine Botbyl was crowned Miss SA in 1988. She desperately wanted to hand over the beauty mantle to her half-sister, Diana Tilden-Davis, the following year but Tilden-Davis was defeated by Michelle Bruce, just as Botbyl had been defeated by Wilma van der Bijl in 1987. Tilden-Davis went on to become Miss SA in 1991, and after SA's 13-year absence she represented her country at Miss World, where she came third. Two other sisters who entered the Miss SA pageant and won titles were Odette Scrooby (Miss SA 1982) and her younger sister Olivia Scrooby (first princess 1990). Jacqui Mofokeng's win in 1993 heralded a new birthright for the pageant Nelson Mandela called her an important South African symbol and said any victory for one black South African is a victory for all of us. From that moment, the playing field was level. In 1994, the year of SA's new democracy, Basetsana Makgalemele was crowned Miss SA and in 2000, the millennium title went to Jo-Ann Strauss. The year 2000 also marked a turning point in the licence ownership. Sun International, formerly a two-thirds partner with media personality Doreen Morris, announced its full ownership of Miss SA. Historically, the pageant was owned and run by the Sunday Times and Rapport newspapers and was later bought by Morris. She acquired the pageant at a difficult time in SA's history and her tireless efforts resulted in the winners becoming globally accepted representatives of SA. Makgalemele said that when she was crowned she had little idea what to expect. I realised it would be more than a year of ribbon-cutting, sweet smiles and popping champagne corks. My rate of personal growth in that year was so rapid that there was never a moment to stand back and reflect on what was happening. It was only later I realised the enormity of what had transpired. Beauty contests attract significant controversy, particularly for how they present women. Many feminists regard beauty contests as cattle markets" that are degrading and re-enforce society's objectification of women. Critics have particularly objected to swimsuit rounds, in which contestants wear only swimwear and high-heeled shoes. In addition, the common view of beauty" in these pageants as represented exclusively by unusually thin women has been questioned. Many national Miss pageants have come under heavy criticism and some have been the subjects of direct action. High-profile complaints were made against the Miss America contest in the late 1960s, and contests in Finland drew controversy for requiring contestants to wear only lingerie. Contests regularly attract demonstrators, particularly if they violate local religious practices. In Nigeria, many Muslims view beauty contests as immoral, because the female participants are typically not dressed modestly. Partly because of this criticism, beauty contests have declined in popularity in most of the western world since the 1960s. The Miss New Zealand pageant is no longer televised, as public interest is low. However, in areas where these contests were discouraged, such as eastern Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, they have flourished since the 1980s as restrictions were relaxed. Perhaps Miss SA will still be around in 50 years' time. GIANT LEAP: Jacqui Mofokeng, the first black woman to wear the Miss SA crown. Picture: BRETT ELOFF SULTRY: Miss SA 2007 finalists Leilanie Botha, Raelene Rorke, Palesa Masiteng and Matapa Maila. Picture: PETER MOREY ALL SMILES: Manisha Pillay, Matapa Maila, Sonique du Plooy, Meghan Cronin, Kerry Hiestermann, Taryn du Plooy, Avumile Qongqo, Lisa van Zyl, Palesa Masiteng, Yolandi Nel, Raelene Rorke and Tansey Coetzee. Picture: PETER MOREY HEADER HERE: Cape Town. dresses. Lisa Van Zyl; Avumile Qongqo; Yolandi Nel Pictures: PETER MOREY Copyright 2007 Johnnic Communications, Source: The Financial Times Limited |