The whole scenario at the crowning of Mrs. World last week is a good opportunity to evaluate the criteria by which we judge those whom we regard as admirable in our society.
What do we revere them for? How have they elevated or illuminated our community?
Three days before the events at the Mrs. World ceremony, one of the ladies whose conduct on that day has been most severely criticised shared a post on her public Face book page, to commemorate Easter. It was a quote from the Book of Isaiah, 52:13
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
You will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.’
Under this scripture text was a picture of the crucified Christ, raised up on the cross, surrounded by mockers and mourners.
Three days later, this self-described ‘super model’ participated in the public uncrowning of the woman who was declared the winner of the Mrs. World contest, and now herself faces a storm of criticism for her aggressive and unseemly conduct, including a police summons.
The criticism from all quarters, of both the supermodel and the outgoing Mrs. World, has focused on their conduct and what a crude and stark contrast it was to the elegance and social gracefulness the title holder is meant to embody.
Social media has crucified the two beauty queens, and the lady they uncrowned has been reinstated. Sri Lankans are mortified that the incident makes us seem like a joke to the rest of the world. All the great achievements of Sri Lankan scientists, writers, artists, academics, legal and medical professionals, architects and engineers are temporarily overshadowed.
I was told by a friend who was herself part of the fashion and beauty industry in Sri Lanka that it is a ‘very worrying situation... As many are not aware.. See all those international pageants that are organized are really to showcase our country. Yes it provides many opportunities for the winner too, but when the winner bags the main event and brings the crown home, it is a Winning Moment for the country. The name and image of the country is right on top (just like our cricket matches). The crown and title then become the property of the country until the next time.
So the Mrs. World International crown and title for 2019 belong to Sri Lanka. In 1984, the inaugural Mrs. World pageant was held, and the winner was Rosy Senanayake. She was the first-ever Mrs. World, and hence she is highly regarded internationally.’
The crude and aggressive way the crown was placed on the head of the winner, then removed and casually transferred to the first runner up resulted, we are told, in head injuries. I could not help thinking of the crown of thorns which had been mockingly placed on the head of Jesus, in the crucifixion event commemorated just a few days before.
Observing the tirades directed at the outgoing Mrs. Sri Lanka, we can see that many are shocked at the contrast between her beautiful and elegant physical appearance and her damaging and disturbing personal conduct at this event. There are high expectations of good conduct by those we call queens.
Misogynists were in their glory, commenting on the pancake makeup and artificial and homogenic appearance of the finalists, saying they look like female impersonators rather than women, and mocking the incident as a ‘brawl’ and a ‘cat fight’ between women competing for the attention of society, ironically participating in their own reduction to the level of objects.
Within minutes, the two women who uncrowned the declared winner became memes, the object of mockery throughout the country.
Sri Lanka has an opportunity at this excruciating moment to re-evaluate the way we build people up and then tear them down, whether it is international athletes, opera singers, supermodels or elected leaders. The world as a whole has the chance to consider what beauty contests mean, and what relevance values of competitiveness sourced in physical attributes have in the modern, post feminist world.
Several past winners of national and international honors for beauty have spoken out about the importance of the dignity, elegance and finesse the beauty Queen is supposed to represent. The current national conversation could restrain itself from compulsively trashing the demonised duo - and seek to reconstruct the foundations of the next pageant before the upcoming annual event, at which the incoming Mrs. World will have to preside, with her first runner up, Queen for a day, ready to stand by if needed.
Beauty of face and figure should be in harmony with integrity of moral and ethical conduct. And this is an alignment requirement that we should apply to all those in the public eye, men and women, whose conduct should be irreproachable. We should require the highest standard of behaviour from those who are privileged to embody these virtues for us, and who preside over our social rituals in a place of honor we have given them.
Our public role models - politicians, officials, senior administrators, CEOs, chairpersons - public figures of all kinds - should behave in ways that we as a community can admire, with accountability, courtesy and dignity and respect for others being consistently evident in their conduct. We don’t want to see stories of scandals, questionable actions and unbecoming behaviour when we Google the names of our national dignitaries and title holders. It’s not a joke. It’s a tragedy.
I created a hashtag last year for #srilankanexcellence. Every story about every person whose words and actions show they are contributing in real terms to the positive progress of the country will be tagged on social media. I hope there will be many and diverse entries in that category.
We need to restore our good name, and it won’t be done by augmentation and the mere putting on of a show. It’s time for much more than a makeover.
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