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Tired of Beauty Pageants? Enter an Ugly Contest!
Posted by Laura Robertson on Dec 27, 2007, 20:44
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We've all seen Miss Teen South Carolina give us her wisdom on giving maps to the Iraqis and South Africans, or generically beautiful girls parading around in swimsuits, but how many of us have ever seen a contest where it's not the most beautiful, but the ugliest who wins the crown?
This past week Shenzhen, China hosted an Ugly Contest, where everyone who entered received 100 RMB (which is about $14) and the winner walked away with 10,000 RMB, the equivalent of a year's salary for local migrant workers. Not surprisingly, this type of a contest hasn't been without controversy and critics who blame the contest organizers of profiting from the pain of others. Shenzhen isn't a city wth a less than attractive population, but it is a city swarming with unlicensed or aspiring plastic surgeons.
These events are in a different league than the Ugliest Dog Contest, where all the contestants are loved unconditionally and taken at face value. Instead, those who participate in the contests are prime candidates for the services offered by the sponsors.
In 2003 and 2004, there was a flourishing of Ugly Contests throughout China, in every city from Beijing to Shanghai to Guangzhou. In a 2004 Hubei contest, the Mr. Ugly winner won free plastic surgery, as did the winner of a 2003 Miss Ugly Contest, which occurred just a week before the Miss World Pageant.
That winner, Zhang Di, received a hefty plastic surgery prize worth 100,000 RMB. You can see her before and after pictures here, and just two months after her victory she was a changed person (externally, at least). In this particular contest, the literal translation of her title wasn't as harsh as "Miss Ugly," but closer to the Chinese version of Cinderella. Even before the surgery, she wasn't at all unattractive, she just wasn't supermodel stunning.
It's really just a few steps removed from the old reality TV series, "The Swan" or even botox parties. While the plastic surgeons on various US plastic surgery-makeover shows aren't necessarily sponsoring ugly contests to increase business, those who appear definitely don't mind the free publicity. In the same vein, your friend who invites you to a botox party isn't just being nice.
But with the huge demand to look younger, thinner, and prettier, the beauty industry isn't going away any time soon. In China, the demand for cosmetic procedures is staggering. Eye surgeries designed to create double eyelids that give a more Western appearance, calf surgery to slim the legs, and nose surgeries to make flat noses more prominent are especially popular.
Despite their popularity, not all of these surgeries end well. 200,000 plastic surgery malpractice suits have been filed in China over the past 10 years, and with the younger legal system, it's difficult for victims to be properly compensated. It's also easier for unqualified individuals to perform intricate procedures.
Plastic surgery mishaps are definitely not limited to China, and I for one have seen far too many people with face lifts that are a bit too tight or other procedures that have gone painfully wrong. On the other hand, as China's economy grows and the surgeries remain affordable for average consumers, the demand for various procedures will undoubtedly skyrocket.
It doesn't seem like the world's standards of beauty and plastic surgery markets will diminsh any time soon. If anything, ideal, unattainable standards of beauty will become even more prevalent.
At the very least, know that if somebody ever offers you the chance to compete to be Mr./Ms. Ugly, don't be offended. You probably don't really have an unattractive face, but you do have an absolutely gorgeous wallet.
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