The always outraged Angry Asian Man linked to a NY Magazine article that briefly profiles four of the contestants in the 30th annual Miss Korea New York competition. The pageant thing seems so bizarre to me and I don't understand the appeal of it. MTV had a series on pageant girls this year and from the show, it seemed to me that pageants attracted primarily girls from upper-middle class and affluent families. I was hoping the show would be scandalous and fabulous, but it was instead banal and pathetic (e.g. pageants held in dingy gymnasiums). They were also not the most attractive either. However, women who compete in big national and international pageant competitions are generally banging and fly, albeit in a plastic-y and homogenously Barbie way.
Non-white pageants are slightly different from those featured on MTV or "big league" contests like Miss Teen USA, in that they emphasize, and in the process reaffirm, a particular ethnic or racial culture. Nevertheless, in the end, you still have the swimsuit component that results in a schizophrenic dissonance between the slut and the doyenne.
As for the NY Magazine article, even though they state nineteen Korean-Americans are competing, it is curious to me as why they felt the need to state how long the contestant has been living in the U.S. For example, the magazine writes:
Mijin Park, 19, Philadelphia; schoolteacher and college student; in U.S. twelve years.
Essentially, Ms. Park grew up and acculturated in the U.S. She is American, so I'm quite not sure what the relevance of the last detail is. I may be over-reacting, but is this yet another subtle code inserted by the magazine to inform their readers (most who are white I presume) that these girls are not quite fully "American" (as defined by whites)?
Unpacking and examining racial symbolism, issues of assimilation, and media critique aside, the rest of Mijin Park's profile made me laugh.
Sang: “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. Why do you want to win? Audrey Hepburn said you should use one hand to help yourself and the other hand to help others. Which others? I’ve heard in Africa they really need education there. I can help if I have the title. [My favorite response if for the sheer simultaneous incognizance and hubris] Why the Little Mermaid song? She’s trying to get out of the sea to be a person. That’s me. I want to grow from a little girl to a young lady. What’s your favorite Hepburn movie? [Long pause] I’m not really sure.
I'm totally rooting for Mijin, but Naomi "Nina" Kim rocks too. When asked why she was doing this, she responded, "To represent the Korean race. I want to be the first Korean supermodel." I hope I see her on America's Next Top Model soon.