Weight discrimination is almost as common as racial discrimination. Many factors impact the perception of one’s body image, including the mass media, peer groups, ethnic groups, and family values.
There is no such thing as an “ideal” or “perfect” body, and different cultures have different standards and norms for appropriate body sizes and shapes. Even within our Dominican culture, societal standards have shifted periodically. The interesting factor is that women are viewed as overweight, not “under height” when being compared to fashion models. My concern however, is the body-image distortion among the contestants in the Miss Dominica Pageant. No winner of the pageant has ever been “overweight,” and facts show that the contestants accepted have gotten progressively thinner over the years.
My argument is solely geared towards the discrimination against women who do not reflect the typical profile of a beauty pageant participant and is a very serious problem that we need to address. This year as we have noticed the contestants have yet been introduced to the public. WHY IS THIS? Well the DFC Committee is the only source for credible answers however, from reliable sources the lack of applicants with suitable qualifications dominated the spectrum. At their first deadline (Oct 17th) the committee had received eight applications with which they must have been dissatisfied since the deadline was further extended.
It should be publicized that an applicant may have been discriminated against for the mere issue of being overweight regardless of the quality of her application: (She was even regarded by an interviewer as the BEST CANDIDATE INTERVIEWED IN MANY YEARS). What image are we sending across to young women in Dominica? That they should not be proud and comfortable in their own skin? Or does lack of trust in dedication and commitment to the goals women set to strive upon when sacrificing to participate in competitions of this nature a more prevailing subject.
As we had well observed in 2003, a well deserving candidate Ms. Michelle Paul had been chosen but misguided with regards to the criteria. Paul had won Best Talent and the Intelligence award and still failed to capture a place in the top three and in my opinion was injustice because of how she was judged in one particular round.
It is my interest to seek the public’s viewpoint on this matter, very controversial, however eye-awakening. Ironically, we need to be able to throw our weight around. Why a woman who is Size eight isn’t allowed to participate in Miss Dominica’s Pageant?!?!
Opinions expressed in this letter do not necessarily reflect those of Dominica News Online.
WHOSSSSSSSSSSSS.. Finally.. Well If Michelle was appected as a contestant that year of the show there shouldnt have been that unfair treatment point blank and its time we protest and take a stand. You all talking about full figured girls being unhealthy but remember not all can be a size one and because someone is full figured doesnt mean they are sending an unhealthy messages. Thanks
I think the committee should take the question and answer off from the show instead of having the girls make a fool of their selves. The DFC knows as well as the public can see, this is not based on intellegence. Its all about beauty.
Fat people are not intended for beauty pageants. Beauty pageants are not intended for fat people.
And, if the young lady in question is size 8…then I am minus zero!
if its okay to have categories for age and marital status why can’t they slide a weight restriction as well. the airlines are doing it now.
Having said that if they allow any plus size person in they should judge them fairly. What happened to Michelle back them was highway robbery.
Let’s be honest these pageants are all about who is the prettiest. The intelligence rounds are just padding to make it appear much more than it is. I’ve seen contestants that are passable in terms of attractiveness but I have never seen a truly ugly contestant, let alone see one win – its all about how they look. However, despite appreciating the good works undertaken by the winners it has to be more than strutting your stuff on the stage. I dont believe being overweight projects or promotes a healthy lifestyle and we should be mindful that the young and impressionable are looking to these girls. No matter how you slice it, being overweight projects a certain level of lack of discipline, lack of will power and poor judgement. I think the organisers should not relax any rules that would encourage this. I do really agree with the writer who said you can’t expect to eat all the junk you want and then expect to have the rules changed to accommodate you.
DFC …..Transparency is the Key. Make public the criteria so there is no misunderstanding. State the purpose of the event, where it is leading to Miss World , Miss Universe???…What are the benefits to the winner
It would be good at this point to be directed to the website or document which clearly defines the requirements, profile and standards for this pageant which is held annually. The judging criterion is one thing, but what the pageant dictates and has advised as being its pre-requisites for contestants has to be a bona fide document which is followed all the time. All pageant owners have thier own but these standards do not exist and it is left to all citizens to determine what they think in thier mind is a “good contestant size”. I am personally waiting to see if these things will ever be put in place as the committee only reacts when there is a controversy after judging…unfortunate…
That is what i have been saying from the start. People want to eat all kind of junk. Be fat and overweight and want people to bend rules for them.
You should encourage the overweight girls to try and live healthy lifestyles – eating nutritious foods, getting adequate exercise and sleep. Instead you there trying to normalize plus sizes.
The organizers have teir standards, it is up to the girls to meet those standards. Why is intelligence a standard in some walks of life, but size cannot be for a beauty pageant? You seem to have no trouble in them not accepting the girls who don’t interview well, but you have issues with them not accepting overweight girls.
I don’t patronize or support the idea of beauty pageants, but if they set their stndards, either you meet it or you don’t.
The Pageant like everything else has a standard. It however doesn’t ask anyone to be anorexic/or excessively skinny. If you want to be the top body builder or light weight, heavy weight boxer, similarly you have to meet the criteria.
The pageant is such to facilitate other pageants. I take it too there is age discrimination; so why senior citizens aren’t complaining to be Miss Dominica.
It is our hope that we do not degrade other women who are on the heavier end. In the mean time ladies ought to be healthy.
Listen people we are so disorderly in this country, we talk to much and cause confusion. There is a criteria and we must follow it. So what. If the lady is oversize or what what u want them to do take her and then get the person childr sick loosing wieight for what.
those kind of fat cows they does have on stage there modeling.. my gad they could do better… too much KFC… and lazy
What do the majority of us go to a Queen Pageant to look at. Certainly not a fat out of shape woman no matter how much talent she has. It is not a talent show it is a beauty pageant
Let’s get real here: A “thick” young lady curving out a pair of Levis is a whole lot different than when she’s onstage with only a half yard of spandex covering her cellulite. …DFC must set their standards…if their weight criteria is nothing over 125 pounds that should be standard policy across the board.
Why a woman who is Size eight isn’t allowed to participate in Miss Dominica’s Pageant?!?!
1-Naturalism , in the native name of the country “WitiKubuli”
2-Religion where gluttony is considered a sin.
3-Culture where the views of few dictate the outcome and thinking of the many.
4-Sexism where men decide what is beautiful.
5-You can add the rest.
6-More “Dominican women” should respond so that we have an idea of how they feel about themselves and likewise our men should respond to let us know how they feel about our women.
U people confusing readers.
Sounds like someone heard a beff and wrote DNO.
Plus the same people are commenting over and over. Sounds like a femme caca story.
Nah, something else had to have been wrong with miss size 8.
1. Bad reputation?
2. Bad kill queen english accent, worse than the pretty Minister?
3. Crooked teef with huge pompy nose and flaring nostrils?
4. Over lapping belly that seemed impossible to go down in the next 2 months? (look like was pregnant even if slim?)
5. Plenty, plenty, plenty stretch marks?
Coming out publicly would do better justice to both the DFC and individual(s) concerned.
Another one we must consider as “god fearing” nation is that of gluttony, the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste=OVERWEIGHT/Fat. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food.
BS!! CRAP!!!.. being overweight does NOT mean you have an excessive love of food!!..do u know that obesity is an illness or obesity is sometimes caused by an illness??…let me give you one example..a common illness among women Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a cause of overweight!..go do some research..there are persons who are meg like balaw but they eating more than 5 persons put together….!!!
C.J, I was just pointing out the religious sentiment that is within our culture when it come to body size. BTW “Obesity” is a recent phenomenon that was framed by so called medical experts. Moreover, there was no need for you the tell us about your medical condition.
blah blah blah. how does a discussion about disqualifying a young lady get mix up in a discussion about obesity and religion.
C.J Wheel and come again. Most fat people eat too much, plain and simple. Not only do they eat too much, they eat too much of the wrong foods. Some people eat as if they are expecting famine for the next year.
You are correct, there are many illnesses that affect weight, however, I dont think you would find many women who are overweight as a direct result of such illnesses entering beauty competitions. When you look at these girls you never think they are skinny or slim due to an illness, you think they are in their prime and they have worked hard at eating healthy, going to the gym to get them to the competition.
I would think (I dont know)there is nothing in the rules which says if you were in a wheelchair you could not compete but I have never seen anyone in a wheelchair in an ‘open’ beauty pageant. Anyway there are many ‘big and beautiful’ pageants for the curvier ladies who need to take part.
It is a BEAUTY pageant. And if you smart better for you. But it is BEAUTY and standards have been set for what is considered beauty in pageantry.
After Dominica, smart, pretty, fat Miss Dominica has zero chances elsewhere.
We call it reality.
But.. size 8 is not bad… why not put the girl on a work out plan or something. That smells DISCRIMINATION !!!!
Since when being fat became beautiful? Only people who are fat and have no iNtention of doing anything about IT now are looking for excuses to justify it. Writer call it what ever name that is politically correct for you it is still fat and it is not beautiful it is only tolerated dont get it confused.
I have no difficulty with criteria. Personally an ‘OVERWEIGHT’ individual should not take part in a swimsuit segment of a pageant. But what do we term overweight? A size 8 ????????? . We should not however allow a young woman to be a contestant in the show, perform extremely well (as in the case of Ms Paul) and use her body as an excuse after the fact.
In 2003 that young lady deserved the crown, hook, line and sinker, NO MATTER WHAT RESULTS THE JUDGES MAY HAVE GIVEN. SHE WAS ROBBED and if it were not for encouragement from the public, who knows what could have happened to her self esteem.
So let’s be real Queen Show Cmttee. Set your criteria and stick with it, not after the fact
And get someone to work with the girls for the ques and answer segment. whoever has been doing a poor job of it over the years. that’s my 2 cents
I would hate to say this but I do believe that the girls a judged in the office of the DFC before they even hit the public eyes. The do take a certain body type since intelligence is really not an issue for the stage. They drill the ones they want to win and when another one shines over on that night they find a way to cheat. Clearly last year Miss Joseph won miss intellegent and best talent and Ithink because of her small body she did not win not even place. I attened the show and could not understand what happen. This show is based on body type and not intelligence ladies. If I was a young girl thinking of the pageant this year I would not paticipate.
Let’s get real: Miss Dominica is A BEAUTY PAGEANT!!! Granted over the years, one or two not so pretty made the cut, but it is what it is. Beauty pageants are not meant to test ones IQ … that’s what standardized tests are for. So stop whinning that they don’t care about intelligence and take the damn show for what it is!! Good grief
Patriotic Citizen that was a nice piece to being out the role of sexism within the DFC. Your argument however fail to take into consideration the meaning of the island native name of the WitiKubuli to which the ladies are suppose to reflect. Thus, unlike say for example USA, Canada, England, and the rest of the world for that matter the woman taking part in DFC competition have to be of a particular body type since it is the image, language, culture, etc, and meaning of the island that they are showcasing to the world.
what world??? morocco and china??
I’m confused! Hello???
Since when did Dominica have a say in how Miss World is supposed to look because ‘Dominican women have big belly and can dance heel and toe???
Ok, misunderstood. Waitukubuli ‘Long is her body’. Trueee dat sistah.
I really did laugh out loud!!
is the syetem do that to us, they make us hate what is good and make us like what look and tase nice even if is not good for us.
I love the meat pack and I cherish the bone, I have no problem with both of them at home!!
Lol!!
they should just band the Queen show!!!! I don’t see the need for it. It is just another way of sellin sex.There are more positive thing we can get our young women involved in.
they should BAND it??
lol….
i agree with u on dat. when i think of all the schools that asking for assistance and getting a big fat no tings tight answer and then these same companies are spending thousands of dollars on a one night pageant its amazing. the answer some will give is that it gives them advertisment my advice to these companies is advertise in schools and make life long customers.
In my perspective controversy will always arise with this topic. Considering the comparison in our body types to the Americans, Europeans, Asians and so on we come to accept that we are all different and the frame of black women differ because of our rich diets and social practices…
I definitely would argue for the consideration of a a NON-TYPICAL FRAME applicant in the pageant. We view women who aren’t a Size 2/4/6 as being overweight or FAT well (thick) needless to say this is what modern culture has brought us to accept.
Following the Body Mass Index, a woman who is a size 8 could have a better BMI than one who is size 4. I believe it is injustice!
when we establish what is the purpose of the quenshow, then we can debate if what is going on is right or wrong?
island girl I agree with what you are saying. But ask yourself what is the purpose of the quenshow before you suggest boycotting it.
i get emotional…i wudnt go as far as boycotting…but have the criteria and requirements for participating in the pageant ever been public knowledge????? advertised in the news papers or anything??
If we set standards, over a period people will know what is expected and conform. We are having this argument because the whatever the standards are, they unknown to young ladies who aspire to entire the competition.
then its obvious if u read the article that being a size 8 does not meet those standards…and by no means does that mean the individual is overweight…
i guess the dfc prefers dumb megzos over a well educated voluptuous woman
because as a people in general we are blinded by societal norms and acceptances…there is a specific image (body size, face, skin colour and even hair type)which we regard as beautiful. but if this has truly happened then i belive we should boycott the Queen pageant next year as a sign that we as women and a country will not be discriminated against in any type of way be it for race, religion or BODY TYPE…
Your opinion is welcome but a lot more thought should be considered both on a local level and by extention the wider world therefore the question is if we were to allow certain contestants just as they are with no set standards to compete both on the local and international stage one cannot argue that there will be lots of implications as far as it relates to the judging of those persons who set themselves to represent our country think of those elements cause what is good for the goose is not good for the gander” Lets not kid our selves where it pertains to the subject at hand we are conditioned to look for certain atributes be it beauty,weight,colour, creed or class. finally! island girl”if you are not blinded at this point when you look deeper into the situation if your opinion is accepted our girls would unfortunately loose all the time. Think of these things. Thank you.Remember when the other countries sneeze Dominica catches the flu’thats the sad part.
standards are set and the girls are given a time frame to meet them…this young lady however was not even given the chance to do that… thats the injustice here…ask her wud u b able to lose 10-15lbs by a certain date? at least give her a target so she can reach a goal…at least 6 moths should be given for these girls to be properly prepared for a pageant not 3..
Stupessssss
In Everything there are standards which should be followed. I am in no way suggesting that standards should be set in stone. But however, if a certain objective is being sought after such as obtaining the best candidate who meets international standards, I think standards must be put in place and we should try as much as possible to adhere to them. We do not see any overweight Miss Universe.
and dont u think that these standards are petty?? as some 1 who is supposed to represent the “UNIVERSE” is body type really an issue??? wen the women who win these pageants are in the minority in terms of their size…i wud much rather have a pageant based on intelligence than weight…..
dominica does not take part in miss universe. so y exactly should we go by their standards?
a criteria is set internationally so why don’t we respect it.between size 3-6
a catwalk model is chosen her shoe size counts, her voice and if she is naturally attractive then she is lucky otherwise she is programmed or learned to be a good manquin/model on stage and in public on a daily basis through out her reign if she becomes queen.
Well there’s never been a participant from Dominica either…. :-/
and the debate goes as to what is socially classified as OVERWEIGHT?
is there not a pageant for size eight women and above,the miss big and proud,if one is under eight she can not participate right,because that is there criteria right,so if the qualifications state that one has to be a size six and under to be a national pageant contestant,what is so discriminatory about that.
and that’s the argument it is not defined as part of the criteria…. Ages 18-25, single….. NOTHING speaks about weight…. it’s what we accept socially!