Hi WIMSE Supporters,

            I am forwarding a note from Andrew Ertley via Sally Lloyd (Women's Studies) for WIMSE women to read and react to.  

Jan Yarrison-Rice
Physics Dept.


>>


>>Hello.
>>
>>
>>
>>I am writing to you regarding the ôMiss Miami 2002 Scholarship 
>>Competition.ö  I am horrified that Phi Kappa Psi has chosen to 
>>reintroduce this beauty pageant to Miami.  Pageants objectify 
>>women, perpetuate unrealistic and dangerous body images, and attack 
>>the very core of the feminist movement.  I see this event as a wake 
>>up call that even today we must fight for equality.  Not only can 
>>we protest this event, but we can use it as a call to arms to 
>>change the cultural climate of Miami.  I sincerely hope you will 
>>join me in an open forum to be held in the Bishop Hall living room 
>>on Wednesday October 17th at 8:00 p.m.  I am hoping to have 
>>representatives from many different progressive organizations 
>>present.  To effectively protest an event such as this, we need to 
>>work together.  This forum can be the start of a dialogue between 
>>various organizations so we can work together to educate Miami. 
>>Hopefully many members of your organization will be able to attend. 
>>Please invite anyone you think will be interested.  You can contact 
>>me at 529-2054 with any questions or comments.  I am including a 
>>copy of an editorial I have recently submitted to the student 
>>below.  WeÆll see if it gets published or not.
>>
>>
>>
>>This email has gone out to members of AWS, the Feminist Majority, 
>>Spectrum: MUGLBA, College Democrats, and Miami Greens.  If you have 
>>any other contacts, please forward this email.
>>
>>
>>
>>I hope to hear from you soon,
>>
>>Thank you,
>>Andrew Ertley
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Naturally, when I first saw the huge ôMiss Miami 2002ö poster on 
>>Wednesday morning, I assumed it was a joke.  Unfortunately for all 
>>of us, it is not.  I thought we had made progress in the way we 
>>think about women at Miami.  I thought we were making a conscious 
>>effort to give up our barbaric treatment of women as objects.  I 
>>was wrong.
>>
>>Beauty pageants represent the very core of sexism in America.  They 
>>are little more than a chance for men to judge women on outward 
>>physical appearances.  They promote the objectification of women 
>>and perpetuate myths of what women ôshouldö look like.
>>
>>Phi Kappa PsiÆs resurrection of the Miss Miami pageant exemplifies 
>>everything that is wrong with the culture of Miami University: a 
>>culture where date-rape, stereotypes, and anorexia abound.  When we 
>>consider how obsessed many Miami students are with body types, we 
>>should not be particularly surprised that this event would be found 
>>acceptable by some.  What is next?  A sorority contest to award a 
>>scholarship to the man with the biggest penis?  We should be 
>>fighting against these body image obsessions, not perpetuating them 
>>with competitions.
>>
>>This is certainly not the first time a ôMiss Miamiö pageant was 
>>held.  The pageant dates back to at least the early 1960s.  ôMiss 
>>Miamiö was originally sponsored by Program Board, but was dropped 
>>due to protests.  The MenÆs Glee Club attempted to take over the 
>>event as a fundraiser, but faced heavy protest in 1988.
>>
>>The first major protests against the ôMiss Miamiö pageant occurred 
>>in 1968.  Around this time, a group called ôMary attempts to 
>>disrupt the pageantö was formed.  In 1972, the spokesperson for 
>>this group explained that, ôThe Miss Miami pageant is one of the 
>>institutions that perpetuates the myth that women are just sex 
>>objects. Ever since we were little girls, we have been seeing these 
>>pageants on TV. . . We felt that the concept of a beauty pageant is 
>>degrading to women.ö  I find it particularly disheartening that so 
>>little has changed in the past thirty years.
>>
>>Even the word "feminist" still carries a stigma.  Some see 
>>feminists as threatening traditional American values when we are 
>>simply striving to improve a society that still does not respect 
>>its men and women as equals.  Both Miami and US culture continually 
>>reinforce the idea that women are inferior.  Even at Miami we often 
>>hear that feminists are too radical, but there is something 
>>inherently wrong when the community of a supposedly modern American 
>>university allows a fight for simple equality and respect to be 
>>seen as radical.
>>
>>Perhaps Phi Kappa Psi intends this ôscholarship competitionö to be 
>>a new type of pageant that ignores traditional stereotypes and 
>>promotes academics and inner beauty.  If this is their intention, 
>>they do a poor job of conveying it.  Think about the messages Phi 
>>Kappa Psi is portraying.  The official website refers to 
>>contestants as ôgirls.ö  The pageant still includes a fashion show. 
>>The promotional posters show images of anorexic, sullen-eyed 
>>ballerinas.  The contestants cannot be married nor can they have 
>>been married in the past.  Even the name ôMiss Miamiö implies 
>>inferiority.
>>
>>Organizers of this event will tell you it is not a pageant at all, 
>>but rather a scholarship competition û and for charity at that. 
>>DonÆt let them confuse you.  If it looks like a pageant and sounds 
>>like a pageant, it probably is a pageant.  Phi Kappa Psi has chosen 
>>very worthwhile charities, but these charities would be better 
>>served by other fundraising events that do not objectify women.
>>
>>At a University such as Miami, where anorexia and body image 
>>obsessions are already such a problem, this event is 
>>unconscionable.  In 1988, the final Miss Miami pageant was 
>>sponsored by MenÆs Glee Club.  Silent protestors picketed the event 
>>with signs reading, ôThis is the blatant exploitation of women.ö 
>>Their efforts to prevent future pageants were successful.  I 
>>challenge you to follow these protestorsÆ example and stand up for 
>>equality.  If you support this event, you dishonor the work of 
>>hundreds of years of feminists and do irreparable harm to the women 
>>of Miami.
>

*************************************
Sally A. Lloyd
Director, Women's Studies
Professor, Department of Educational Leadership
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-4616            fax-513-529-1890
[log in to unmask]
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