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Venezuela is famous for its exotic vistas, its oil and its beautiful women. That small South American country holds a world record of winning at the big Miss Universe pageant, with a whopping 6 wins, including 2 consecutive ones.
So is it the air or the water in this small country that has to do with all this beauty? No. It’s all thanks to Osmel Sousa’s Caracas based beauty queen school.
In Venezuela, a politically unstable developing country, beauty pageants have become a national sport, making the beauty queen school a world class training academy for young women. Thousands of near-perfect looking women apply to get into the school every year, a mere 20 are chosen. This is only the beginning of their long journey.
In the beauty queen school the girls learn to model and present themselves, walk in heels, and speak in public. They are told to stick to a strict diet and exercise routine and have some surgery and dental work done to enhance their beauty.
“Beauty queens are not born, they’re made”, seems to be the motto of this pageant academy.
Is that beauty pageant that important with all of the other problems Venezuela is facing? To Venezuela’s people – definitely. All the buzz and high ratings the pageant gets assure that the contestants will not easily be forgotten. In that way, participating in the beauty pageant opens doors for them into careers in TV, journalism and even politics.
In developing countries it seems to be somehow more acceptable for women to rely heavily on their appearance and sexuality to move forward in life. Therefore the emphasis the women in these countries put on looks is more significant, and the measures they are willing to take to achieve their beauty goals are more drastic.
Reading about this beauty queen industry has made me think about the measures each one of us is willing to take on the quest to beauty. When is it too much? Models enlarge or reduce their breasts if their agent says so, most of the actors in Hollywood have had work done. Is it really necessary? What could make you go and have your body or face altered by a surgeon?
To me the answer is obvious- I would only go under the knife if I honestly think the change will make me feel more confident, and there is no other way to achieve the desired change, after all – not everything can be solved by dieting or exercise. On the other hand, the beauty standards for me and other regular people working at normal jobs are different from the standards set for the “professionally beautiful” in the first place.
How far will you go to look beautiful? Will you be willing to undergo plastic surgery if the job of your dreams requires that?
Further reading: Miss Venezuela on ABC
Drawing is by me. If you want to see a larger image, you can do so here.
>Wow! What a deep post. You don't often expect to find such thoughtfulness on a fashion blog, but I'm glad you wrote it.
I agree: in developing countries where women usually don't have the same opportunities as men, it makes sense they would be more ready to use their looks and sexuality to even the field.
To answer your question: I couldn't see myself being "professionally beautiful" so I wouldn't go very far to look good. I don't even like to shave my stubble or cut my hair regularly! If the job of my dreams required it, then certainly I'd be more willing to make some sacrifices to get it, but I would consider plastic surgery a sacrifice and not something I'd choose – surgery of any kind scares the crap out of me, for good reason. If my dream job reasonably required me to be good-looking, I would be a different person, and so I'm not entirely sure what I would be willing to do for it.