2008 Woodie Awards
Judging worldly beauty
Issue date: 11/9/05 Section: Opinion
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Stephanie Fagan
Visual Arts Editor
A few years ago, I was caught off guard by a funny commercial on the radio that had a guy checking out the morals on a girl and a girl liking a guy's character.
John 7:24 states, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
But what does that mean in regard to beauty pageants? As a female, I am prone to question every motive in situations like this. I have chosen to focus primarily on the negative motives of beauty pageants. I do not pretend to be an expert in this field, I am merely speaking as a Christian woman on the outside looking into this phenomena.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 states, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
I am sure the Miss NGU contestants had all the inappropriate parts covered but according to 1 Timothy that is not enough. Even if contestants were required to wear long-sleeved floor length potato sacks, the very act of competing in these pageants would still be immodest. A woman's modesty is not only the amount of clothing worn but also mostly the importance she places on clothing and outward appearances in general. Some of you may be reading this, thinking I am just another hairy feminist calling for the end of the degrading practice of treating women like meat. I assure you I am probably the polar opposite of a feminist and to blame pageants fro the cheapening of beauty in today's culture would be giving them entirely too much credit. Is it not these women who choose to compare themselves with other women?
Can we have no better Christian witness in the world of pageants than parading around on national television in nothing more than a "modest" one-piece swimsuit and high heels? I weep for my generation if this is the case.
Visual Arts Editor
A few years ago, I was caught off guard by a funny commercial on the radio that had a guy checking out the morals on a girl and a girl liking a guy's character.
John 7:24 states, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
But what does that mean in regard to beauty pageants? As a female, I am prone to question every motive in situations like this. I have chosen to focus primarily on the negative motives of beauty pageants. I do not pretend to be an expert in this field, I am merely speaking as a Christian woman on the outside looking into this phenomena.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 states, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
I am sure the Miss NGU contestants had all the inappropriate parts covered but according to 1 Timothy that is not enough. Even if contestants were required to wear long-sleeved floor length potato sacks, the very act of competing in these pageants would still be immodest. A woman's modesty is not only the amount of clothing worn but also mostly the importance she places on clothing and outward appearances in general. Some of you may be reading this, thinking I am just another hairy feminist calling for the end of the degrading practice of treating women like meat. I assure you I am probably the polar opposite of a feminist and to blame pageants fro the cheapening of beauty in today's culture would be giving them entirely too much credit. Is it not these women who choose to compare themselves with other women?
Can we have no better Christian witness in the world of pageants than parading around on national television in nothing more than a "modest" one-piece swimsuit and high heels? I weep for my generation if this is the case.