Beauty pageants here in the Philippines are considered an opportunity for Filipino women who dream of having a beautiful life. It is commonly associated with a better future that comes to him after winning the competition. There is no denying that Filipino women are exposed to it at such a young age as it is a staple activity in every community celebration. Be it from parties in the barangays to international beauty pageants seen on television. For this reason, Filipinos are obsessed with beauty pageants and the privileges that come with them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to Asilum (2016), the culture of beauty pageants first began when Miss Manila Carnival Queens was crowned in 1908. The first Miss Manila Carnival was awarded to Pura Garcia Villanueva of Iloilo (Garcia, 2016). The beauty pageant culture of Filipinos refers to the search for what best defines beauty; the desire for that concept to be updated. Filipinos' view on the concept of beauty also has its negative implications. For example, women participating in the competition must get into the best physical shape; to do this, they do a lot of strange lunging and wiggling (Enriquez, 2014). They walk like duck ramps with books on top just to perfect the standard posture that attracts the judges during the competition. The love of beauty has been the sole reason why aspiring beauty queens tend to do all the most ridiculous things they can do as long as it helps them achieve their respective goals. I believe beauty pageants teach women that instead of striving for career focus and academic success, they are shown that beauty is more important. This has led to a situation where women are forced to follow the standards set by the people. According to Dr. Mina Roces, a professor at the University of New South Wales who has focused her research on the history of women in the Philippines, she noted that pageants are harmful to women because they promote unrealistic beauty standards that only a few can achieve . Height requirements and ideal body types for pageants are the reason since it fits a certain mold and by having that unrealistic standard as a stereotype for women, some people who don't fit the "ideal" would feel less fulfilled as a person and as a woman. .It also affects women's self-esteem which can be problematic. As Joe Rivera (2009) quotes Naomi Klein in her book, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women: “Every day new products are introduced to 'correct' intrinsically feminine 'flaws', dragging women into an obsessive condition and without hope. cycle built around the attempt to reach an impossible standard of beauty”. Beauty pageants have become an avenue to objectify women, creating the idea that there is a standard of beauty, which pushes the “ordinary” female population to aspire to things they could not realistically achieve (Rivera, 2009). The aforementioned case of objectification of beauty is unfortunately observable in beauty pageants, especially in the Philippines. These pageants impose a very specific "type" of woman and, in doing so, invalidate and belittle most other women who don't. meet these requirements. It's this sort of objectification of women – seeing women as a source of pleasure – that makes some people uneasy about pageants; and rightly so. Some people would not agree with the competition objectifying women because of the questions parts andanswers included in some beauty pageants. While I admit that this gives the contestant an opportunity to show off outside of the physical realm, there is a long-standing expectation of clumsy failure in this segment of the competition, supported by both spectators and judges. Beauty must go hand in hand with personality and substance, or so we are told. That's why beauty pageants assign a question-and-answer portion to showcase the contestants' intellect. But why, for a show that lasts 2-3 hours, is only 5 to 10 minutes allocated for the question and answer portion for the finalists? Furthermore, they only have to answer one question. Whether they are asked to prepare rehearsed speeches or think of answers on the spot, the mechanics of the show clearly do not do justice to the candidate's intelligence, or to his personality which cannot be deciphered with a single question. Five minutes of answering questions about world peace can't make up for about an hour of shameless catwalks, incessant photos and superficial models. Defenders also argue that this can empower women, many of whom may be genuinely proud of their appearance. In response to that, there's no denying that having a woman who feels good about herself is a good thing - I'm happy for them - but it's still not fair to let women compete with each other based primarily on their physical appearance. . There is no denying that these competitions have requirements that not all women can adapt to; therefore marginalizing the majority of women who do not belong to the social vision of beauty. I say we should find more meaningful ways to empower women, because surely the efforts and resources put into organizing these competitions could be put to better use. Prognosis In my opinion, the ideal beauty pageant and its contestants would therefore include more reality. I would like to see fewer fake breasts and injected noses and more realistic waistlines and body cuts; a realistic standard of beauty. I would like the industry to give its competitors a chance to show substance and a significant part of their spirit and character. It's not just about having more questions, but also about presenting sophisticated questions to candidates. If beauty pageants followed a more relative, fair, and more forgiving system, this could change society's perspectives in a way that would help understand the true concept of beauty. and ensure fairness and equality for women. She would be able to prove that there is more to women than just physical attributes. We should stop instilling this idea in women's heads because it will make them lose confidence or even despise their bodies. Each of us has our own identity and peculiarities. Another way we can address this problem according to Roces (2018) is by realizing the internalized gender inequality in Filipinos, then being determined to resist it. Beauty pageants are a challenge for feminists, so what we need to do is give women a feminist consciousness - that it shouldn't just be beauty and physical appearance that makes a woman beautiful - to expand the definition of a woman. We should build a society where women can walk with pride in the way they look. An environment where the most validation women will ever seek will come from themselves. Position In this position paper, I would like to argue that beauty pageants do not serve the purpose they are trying to claim, but rather impose unrealistic beauty standards on other women. That these competitions persist in the idea that a woman's physical appearance is the most important characteristic to determine.