Every week Kevin publishes his very own “Kev’s Column” Online, this week he takes a look at the debate around the Miss England contest which is due to take place in Torquay next week:
It was almost as predictable as the tide coming in that the return of the Miss England Final to Torquay would prompt a familiar debate about its merits.
Last year the contest was meet with claims that it was sexist and out dated, with some attempting to argue that developers would be put off investing in the bay. This year the rhetoric has been slightly less heated, but still the Miss England contest has been criticised by those who attacked it last year.
I suspect many in the bay had not heard the final was happening in Torquay next week until a local Labour Councillor went to the press to brand it outdated. Last year the majority of the publicity around the event was generated by those who opposed it and this year looks like being no different, a real irony.
I am not interested in attending a beauty pageant, but whether it is an event everyone would like to attend is not the arbiter of whether it should happen or not. All the contestants take part of their own free will and are able to make up their own minds about it, as is anyone who attends.
Those criticising this event have not made the same comments about the Mr England contest. If their issue is with promoting a particular body image where are the comments about that one? Do those criticising really believe men are more able to choose whether to take part in such a contest than their female counterparts?
Last year I meet both Mr England and Miss England at an event aimed at promoting Torbay to the organisers of Miss World. Both were articulate and able to fully explain their choice to take part in the contest, as were Miss World and Mr World who also attended. For me the key is that it is their choice to take part, no one is forcing them to.
There are real issues in our society about how body images are promoted and the value we put on physical appearance. Yet the way to tackle this is through education to help stimulate thoughts about what beauty really means, rather than just attack Miss England for existing.
Whenever the Miss & Mr England contests visit the bay in future I suspect we will get a Groundhog Day feeling as a predictable debate springs up again. It is just a pity that such a discussion is guaranteed almost as much attention as serious ones around domestic violence and sexual abuse that blight many women’s lives, a far cry from the impact of a contest only a small number of women choose to be part of.