Why didn’t the Punjabi woman win beauty contests?
Because she was Miss Singh.
This joke made the rounds after the triumphs of Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen, a Bengali, and Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta, an Anglo-Indian.
Naturally, the joke lost its punch a year later when Miss Harnaaz Kaur Sandu, a Punjabi, was crowned Miss Universe 2021.
More recently, Miss Parvenar Singh Thakral was voted Miss Phuket Thailand. This raised eyebrows, as many people consider nativeethnic Thai women to be among the most beautiful in the world.
Former US President Donald Trump loves beauty contests, while feminists rightly rail against these events ascompetitions for objectifying women.
My issue lies in the relevance of these contests.
It is said that ideal feminine beauty traits include facial features, skin tone, height, body shape and weight.
However, there can be no argument that the mass media, fashion magazines, advertisements and even toys such as Barbie dolls relentlessly reinforce the Western concept of beauty.
Thanks to these efforts, I sincerely believe that many an Asian man is covertly in love with a slender blonde Caucasian woman.
Of course, it could just be me.
Then, in a very unusual academic exercise, the University of Texas conducted a study of the ideal female form.
Its findings revealed that this should be 1.68m tall with a 99cm bust, 63cm waist and 91cm hips.
But it came with a disclaimer stating that these measurements should not be taken as “a strict guide” to what is considered beautiful.
This is followed by the clincher: “The truth is that what one person finds attractive may not be the same for another.”
Makes one wonder why a university would study such an imponderable subject.
In the pursuit of beauty, some women – and men, to be fair – undergo plastic surgery and procedures such as liposuction, which can have deadly consequences.
Then, there’s skin whitening or bleaching.
While it is tempting to blame colonialism and Western beauty propaganda, the preference for a fair complexion among many Asian women has sadly been a part of their societies since ancient times.
It also contrasts greatly with the sun-tanning ritual among white women in the Western world.
Perhaps singer, songwriter and comedian Ray Stevens got it right with his 1970 song Everything Is Beautiful.
We should appreciate the beauty in everything and everybody, regardless of what the media or our cultural baggage may tell us.
There is no one “perfect” body type, skin tone, or face – just to each his or her own.
