Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What purpose do beauty pageants serve?





The finale of Miss India 2008 is the hottest thing to hit television this April. Months of hard work, barely any food and treacherous workouts will finally pay off for a few of them, if not all. It will also buy them 60 minutes of fame! Beauty pageants are about being “beautiful”, right? Since when did being beautiful come with height, weight and age criteria? Oh yes – since time immemorial.

While we can grudgingly agree that Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai in their own way helped put India on the global map, what has stumped most people is the spillover of the wannabe Ash-Sush effect over the years. Every beauty queen says she wants to do something about poverty, children, AIDS and the lesser mortals of the world. How many of them really do it, though? This kind of answers might win them the crown, but then, what next? Don’t you think this in itself is a farce?

Most of these beauty queens go on to become actresses and don’t really keep up their promises of making a difference to this world. With the TRP ratings for these shows falling with every passing year, what purpose do these contests really serve, then, if not adding to an already under-talented and over-populated film industry?

Do these contests really bring out the beauty of a person? As Praxis questions, do these pageants do anything more than portray women as mere objects? Do you think we are pushing in an anorexia culture? Do such shows really bring forth women of substance, Answerers?

Nida
Yahoo! Answers Team
Return to Yahoo! Answers
Tags: missindia, beautypageants, beautycontests
Friday April 4, 2008 - 01:08pm (IST) Permanent Link 11 Comments

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mafia hand suspected in Budhia coach murder
14 Apr 2008, 0336 hrs IST,Sandeep Mishra,TNN
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BHUBANESWAR: The man who literally adopted a frail and abandoned 4-year-old and turned him into a famous child marathoner, himself running into a wall of controversies in the process, was mysteriously gunned down here on Sunday evening.

Biranchi Das, who would have remained an unheralded coach had not Budhia Singh totted up feats like running 65km between Puri and Bhubaneswar in about seven hours, was killed by two unidentified assailants as he stepped out of the Orissa Judo Association Hall just after training a judo class. He was shot at point blank range.

Das’s students rushed him to the state-run Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

"We have got some clues and are working on those. It is premature to reveal anything now," city police chief B K Behera said.

No one was arrested till reports last came in.

Police sources said two persons came on a motorcycle and asked Das to come out of the hall before pumping bullets into him from a 9mm pistol.

One theory is that Das, who had made a name and probably some money riding on Budhia’s fame, had been mixing up with local mafia elements.

Police sources said they suspected involvement of a dreaded gangster in the killing, but refused to name anyone.

Sources said Das was possibly approached for help by the family of an actor, who was of late getting threats from the gangster who is now under the scanner for the murder.

Police sources said eyewitnesses claimed they had seen a gangster opening fire at Das. Deputy commissioner of police Amitabh Thakur, however, refused to divulge much. "We have got accounts of some eyewitnesses and suspect some persons," he said.

Das’s younger brother Susanta, an eye witness said, "We were celebrating the Oriya New Year when the miscreants came and shot at my brother." Das is survived by his wife and son.

He had shot into prominence in 2006 when his find and child prodigy Budhia entered the Limca Book of Records by running 65km from Puri to Bhuban-eswar. The record run sparked a controversy over whether kids should be allowed to run such long distances, leading to the state government banning Budhia from running marathons. Das had moved court challenging the ban.

Subsequently, Budhia drifted away from Das with the former’s mother Sukanti alleging that the coach was torturing her child and making money in her son’s name.

Anonymous said...

Man who marries a girl with no bust has right to feel low down.

Jim said...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Forget_US_IITians_prefer_to_stay_home/rssarticleshow/2951785.cms

Anonymous said...

Monday, April 14, 2008
Forget US, IITians prefer to stay home





15 Apr 2008, 0253 hrs IST,Sujata Dutta Sachdeva,TNN
They may be some of the most sought after techies in the US, but the Big Apple does not seem to hold its charm for IITians anymore. A study reveals the number of IITians opting to move to the US after graduation is steadily coming down.

In the last five years, nearly 84% preferred to stay back and pursue a career in India.

Rex Venom said...

Good question? But is there a simple answer? I think that the value of these contests, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
(Yeah, right. Like a seven foot wide floating ball with eyes on stalks knows why We like to see hot chicks on TV tell us that they like cute kittens...)
Rock on!

Vest said...

The cleverest man in India is a military man called who? answers please.
Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

, ,
Anonymous said...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


if Hitler and the Axis Powers were to win WWII

the President of USA wud hang for war crimes

targetting a civilian population in Hiroshima and Nagasakhi with Atomic bombs

Churchill too
, ,

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 02:12:00 AM EST

Anonymous said...

me Vest?
but i m not military

Anonymous said...

Tibetans take out parallel torch relay
17 Apr 2008, 1152 hrs IST,PTI
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NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Tibetans on Thursday took out a parallel torch relay run in the national capital, coinciding with the Olympic flame event, to protest against Chinese "atrocities" in their homeland.

The torch was lit at Rajghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, after an inter-religion prayer meeting.

Large number of Tibetans, who had assembled at Rajghat, took a pledge to ensure that the torch, which "signified the freedom of Tibet and humanity", continued to burn.

The protesters, who took part in the rally, starting from Rajghat, carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as "Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat" and "Free Tibet".

Among the participants in the rally were a large number of monks attired in traditional red robes, women and children besides spiritual leader Swami Agnivesh and actor- turned activist Nafisa Ali.

Agnivesh said majority of Indians were with Tibetans and the Dalai Lama was following the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi.

"The official relay has little spirit of Olympics as it is being organised under extreme security. So we decided to live up to the original spirit of Olympics and organise a parallel run," Tseten Norbu, spokesperson of Tibetan Solidairy Committee, organising the protests here, said.

At Jantar Mantar, which has been the epicentre of the Tibetan protests over the past several days, a large number of protesters had also assembled.



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Anonymous said...

Obama, Clinton Square Off in Presidential Debate
By Jim Malone
Washington
17 April 2008

Malone report - Download (MP3)
Malone report - Listen (MP3)


Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were both on the defensive Wednesday night during a debate broadcast by ABC News (from the Constitution Center) in Philadelphia, their last exchange before next Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.


Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., right, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., arrive for a Democratic presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, 16 Apr 2008
The tone of both Democrats was generally polite, but there were plenty of jabs thrown during the course of the debate about recent statements that have caused both contenders problems.

Senator Obama said Senator Clinton had beat to death comments he made about the bitterness of small town voters in Pennsylvania who cling to guns and religion out of economic frustration.

"During the course of the last few days, she has said I am an elitist, out of touch, condescending," said Senator Obama. "Let me be absolutely clear, it would be pretty hard for me to be condescending towards people of faith because I am a person of faith, and have done more than most other campaigns in reach out specifically to people of faith."

But Senator Clinton had her turn on the defensive as well. One voter on a video clip during the debate asked Clinton about her now famous 1996 visit to Bosnia as first lady and why she said her party came under sniper fire and ran for cover when news footage showed a much calmer reception.

"On a couple of occasions in the last couple of weeks, I just said some things that were not in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book, and you know, I am embarrassed by it, I have apologized for it, I have said it was a mistake," said Senator Clinton. "And it is something, I hope, you can look over.

Both candidates said they thought the other could defeat the presumed Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, in the general election in November. But both Democrats also declined to pledge that they would ask the loser of the nomination fight to be his or her vice-presidential running mate.

Clinton insisted she would be the stronger Democratic nominee against McCain because she has fought off Republican attacks in the past.

"You know, I wish the Republicans would apologize for the disaster of the Bush-Cheney years and not run anybody, just say it is time for the Democrats to go back into the White House," she said. "Unfortunately, they do not seem to be willing to do that, so we know that they are going to be out there full force."

Obama countered that his record of unifying voters would make him the better Democratic nominee.

"There is no doubt that the Republicans will attack either of us," he said. "What I have been able to display during the course of this primary is that I can take a punch. I have taken some pretty good ones from Senator Clinton."

Both Democrats stood by their plans to begin troop withdrawals from Iraq shortly after taking office. And both contenders also had tough words for Iran, saying they would do all they could to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Clinton also said she would launch massive retaliation against Iran if it used nuclear weapons to attack Israel. Obama said the U.S. would take what he called appropriate action in the same circumstance.

Clinton continues to hold a lead in public opinion polls in Pennsylvania in advance of Tuesday's primary, but her lead has dwindled in recent weeks.

Obama continues to lead in the overall delegate count for the Democratic nomination with ten more contests to go before the primary season ends in early June. The Democrats hold their national nominating convention in late August, followed by the Republicans a week later.

Anonymous said...

US society to blame for child abuse: Pope
18 Apr 2008, 0037 hrs IST,AGENCIES



WASHINGTON: Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday chided Americans for a moral breakdown he said had fueled the church’s child sex abuse scandal.

Pope Benedict, celebrating a stadium mass for 45,000 people, acknowledged that the United States pedophile priests scandal caused "indescribable pain and harm" to victims but asked Catholics to love their pastors.

"No words of mine can describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse," he said in the sermon of a mass at Nationals Park, a new stadium hosting its first non-baseball event.

In a speech delivered before the mass, the pontiff berated the bishops for their poor handling of a scandal surrounding sexual abuse of children in the church. But he urged efforts "to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores" as well as a reassessment of "the values underpinning society".

"What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?" the pontiff said.

"Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today."

Anonymous said...

Que. What is the difference between a chicken and a baby?

Ans. Chicken is the result of a sitting hen while the baby is the result of standing cock.
================================

Santa, unable to satisfy his wife, took Banta’s advice.While having sex, he asked her: Do u feel any change?

Jeeto: Yes, today you are doing it like Banta.