The Beauty in Beauty Pageants

When it’s time for you to make you’re own decisions in life, there are some that you expect more than others: What outfit shall I wear today? What do I want for dinner tonight? Should I buy this? But there are some decisions that you come across that you have to take a chance and decide what to do based solely on what you think as an individual. And this post is really an account of a decision that someone very close to me had to make.

As a fashion student, having an interest in clothes and latest trends is a given, and somewhat compulsory. The Birmingham Clothes Show is the perfect opportunity for people, such as her, to attend and gain an insight into all things fashion. From make-up stands, to catwalks, to model scouting, it’s every fashion student’s dream! You can spend the day indulging in luxury and delight – maybe I should tag along next year!

Clothes Show Live 2015: Birmingham

So what am I rambling on about, you may ask? First about decisions, now Fashion Shows? Well yes, exactly that. This someone that I am talking about is my best friend. She was scouted at the show by the Miss England representatives, and asked if she wanted to enter the competition for her local region, London. Now, decisions such as this can come with a lot of controversy. Beauty pageants are associated with a lot of negative stigma and can be frowned upon by many, and in some cases, I believe this to be true. But when I say this, I’m talking about the parents that force their children into walking a catwalk in a fancy frock, caked in make up, looking like a clown in drag – it’s just unnecessary.

Miss England

However, after much deliberation and research into these competitions, I came to realise that in fact, as an adult, you have so much more of a choice. A choice to take part, a choice on what you do, and a choice on how personal or over-the-top you make it. Beauty pageants can be so much more than looking pretty and feeling great about yourself. Whilst, these two factors are always an added bonus, it takes a lot of confidence and self-esteem to put yourself into a situation like this and compete with other contestants. Really when you think about it logically, there is no difference between something like this and entering your local gymnastics competition at school. So why is there so much negative press? You’re there competing with people that have the same goals and intentions as you, yet if anything, this requires a whole lot more focus?

Along with confidence, there is the need for hard work. Finding a sponsorship, adhering to certain standards and being fully committed to the event can become fairly time consuming when you’re balancing this with Uni work. Promotion and support from family and friends was the way in which she gained a sponsorship – PoshParties will be seeing her through the Miss London process. There is also hard work involved in body image, and this is where beauty pageants can get there bad name. The requirements to look a certain way and be of a certain size are factored into this, but are not compulsory. In more cases than one, it is through the choice of the individual that attention to their body image is paid, as this can help boost confidence and determination to succeed in the competition.

Beauty with a Purpose

Now, charity work is not something that you would first associate with beauty pageants, yet it actually plays a big role in the entire process. ‘Beauty with a Purpose‘ is the main charity that coincides with the Miss England etc. pageants. Money that is raised is donated to children and adults across the entire globe that are in need of aid, or facing neglect. Since 1972, ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ has been at the heart of every Miss World competition and will continue to do so in coming years. Contestants show a passion for helping others and a desire to meet and share experiences with other people across the world. So whilst you might not think that being part of something like this has any benefit to anyone other than yourself, there are so many people that are grateful for the support that is associated with these pageants – I told you it wasn’t all bad!

So, I’ve told you her story and I’ve told you why there is so much more to beauty pageants, so I should probably tell you why I’m writing this. Jo Carey is my best friend, and I want you to support her in her Miss London journey just as much as I am. As I said to start with, making decisions can be fairly tough at times but if you stick by it and work at it, then who can fault you? No one can.

Jo Carey, Miss London Finalist 2015

If you want to follow Jo’s journey more closely, she has recently set herself up a blog to record her journey and experiences. I know she would be so appreciative of any support and if you take nothing else from this post, be sure to understand that there is so much more to beauty pageants than meets the eye – weren’t you ever told to not believe everything you read?

Nothing other than a rise in vanity

It’s easy. Flip the camera on your phone so that its forward facing, hold it up high so that it makes your eyes look bigger and your cheekbones more defined. Hold your thumb over the big round button and click. Simple. A selfie.

It was the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year in 2013 and it has rapidly become the world’s most predominant craze. Some argue that is shows a rise in confidence amongst young men and women. But is it really about confidence? Or just simply a rise in vanity?

The word selfie really needs no definition. We’ve all done it, on our own or with our friends. Either way, it’s happened and we’re all guilty of it. If there were ever a time where we felt like an attention seeker for posting a selfie onto social media, this feeling is fast receding into the distance. To post a selfie portrays a thousand words. You are pleased with yourself, you like the way that you look, you are happy for the rest of the world to see you in this light, with your head tilted in this way under the X-Pro Filter. Everything that you could never say out loud.

In today’s culture, self-confidence for females is rare and a valuable commodity. So to be able to glorify your good hair days and cute outfits surely is a positive thing, right? Sure. But only to a certain extent. Selfies encourage an obsession with physical appearance. Taking a photo of yourself and posting it upon social media sites requires no intellect, apart from the occasional pun within the caption. The sad truth of selfies is that even the caption comes with an asterisk. “I like the way I look,” but under a thousand filters with my stomach sucked in and under this tilted camera angle. At 14, does your Mum or Dad know that you’re posting photos of yourself in your underwear and a baggy tee for the rest of the world to feast their eyes on? It’s not a boost in self-confidence, it’s an act of rising vanity. Drawing attention to yourself in provocative natures is not where the concept of a selfie derived from.

Miley Cyrus is joining in

Kylie Jenner is also on the bandwagon

An online image is everything these days. Posting a selfie is an empowering act that allows you to control your image online. But your self-esteem may start to be tied to the comments and number of likes that you can receive on each post. Where’s the boost in that? There are people who look upon this selfie generation with huge disappointment- but can you blame them? After all, a selfie teaches males and females alike that you have to look good if you want to show yourself to the world.

Whilst there is a mixed opinion on the elevation of selfies, it really is up to you whether you believe it is lame or legit. Either way, you can change the shape of the future selfie culture. Ask yourself the question of whether selfies are taken for fun and entertainment or whether they are taken in an attempt to get more likes and comments than the last? There may be an element of both, but the latter will always be a big factor in this craze. Everything and anything that you share on social media reveals a small a part about you, and you are in control of it. So it may be that travelling is an interest, or food and drink. Why not post that? Create your online profile and image in more ways than one.

Is it any more than just a game?

Since being at Uni, online dating is something that has become more known in day-to-day life- but is it right?

Match.com, Tinder, Plenty of Fish (POF), eHarmony, we’ve all heard of at least one or two and each day, they are becoming more and more popular amongst students. In particular, Tinder and POF, as they are styled as more of a game than an official dating website. So I guess this raises the question, is it a game? Is finding love a game? For those of you that are less educated on this area of expertise, the art of Tinder is to swipe right if you like what you see, and if they’re a definite no-go, you swipe left and never have to see their sorry little face again. If you’re fortunate enough to get a match, then its your lucky day and you’re all set to live happily ever after. Simple right? For some maybe it is, but a fair few Tinder members have no serious intentions. So to put it bluntly, you’re playing a game with someone before you’re even in a relationship with them – there has to be something wrong here.

Is it just a game?

For some people, online dating is just a “numbers game” – the more matches you can get, the better you are. No, it’s more a case of the more your ego grows and the more single you become, because let’s face it, nobody wants to be with someone who’s overly arrogant and self-confident. What happened to quality over quantity? Have some dignity, you’re not going to get very far in the dating world if all you’re interested in is getting your points up.

Nevertheless, Tinder, along with a few other dating sites/apps are seen as a laugh to some people and argue that if you go in with no intentions, then nobody will get hurt and nothing will ever come of any ‘matches’. For students and other young people, less serious dating sites and apps are seen as a way of meeting new people and making new friends. In this instance, there is no harm in making new friends and wanting to meet people within the area that you live in. Thinking from another perspective, there is only so much that Tinder or Match.com can do, it’s also about your actions away from the screen and whether you are actually able to string a conversation together or whether actually you are the ultimate keyboard warrior of your era. Being aware of your own safety is a given but I won’t go into that (you come to Uni to get away from your parents, not to be constantly reminded to be safe and not talk to strangers!)

It’s free, so why not? Why pay for a site such as Match.com when you can amuse yourself on Tinder for free? Well, this in itself raises another imposing question. Why put a price on love? Why should you pay for some sites and not for others? Among students, being on a budget as it is, paying for online dating is a completely unheard of. Adults, however, are more inclined to pay for online dating as they believe they are ‘too old’ to find love ‘naturally’ (NOT my opinion). It is for this reason that I believe Tinder and POF are more common in the student lifestyle and not so much the others.

So, I know there will be a number of you reading this, shaking your head in disagreement with the underlying negativity that trails through this post, BUT this is definitely not the case. Being someone that, in the scheme of things, can be seen as fairly uneducated when it comes to online dating, I feel that it is a concept that poses many controversial questions that could be impossible to answer, but nevertheless, are interesting to pose in the first place.

A Blast From the Past?

New and improved? Or just a bit ‘edgy’?

So as some of you may already be aware, as of 2017, a new, and supposedly improved, pound coin is being introduced to our British currency. If I’m brutally honest, I don’t really see the issue with the current one but there we go, that’s the government for you these days! I’m sure the intentions for this are all in the right place but clearly the subtext for the new pound coin design is all about cutting corners? Talk about a blast from the past, it looks more like we’ve moved back to the 1800’s and brought back the threepenny bit.

It’s said to help stamp out the issue of forgeries and counterfeit money which is obviously a massive issue in our society today. It reduces the value of our currency and increases the cost of commodities as there is more ‘money’ flowing through the economy. Baring this in mind, clearly action needs to be taken in order to tackle this problem but if the current pound coin has been studied in enough detail, how are you meant to fit a coin like that in your shopping trolley at Asda? The evolution of coin racing is going to come to a halt as the front runner and guaranteed winner is now not even round!

It is still under discussion as to the finalised design to the the back of this new coin. “Sorry” written in capital letters would be a start – I might even suggest this to Osborne. Imagine having loose change like this stacking up in your purse, it would send you over the edge! When the 2014 Budget announced this new arrival, it was as if April Fools had come early – it’s just horrific.

Maybe it’s George Osborne’s way of distracting the public about the changes that have actually been made to the 2014 Budget, by frantically waving around this edgy new coin, but I’ll save that for another day.