INSIGHTS: BEAUTY FROM WITHIN

By Dominador Agbayani

It is such a surprise to hear a lot candidates during the Question and Answer portion when egged to answer to the question, “what edge do you have over other candidates for you to win this contest?” The candidates often answer, “I have beauty from within” without even trying to expound on their answers.

As one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Confucius has said: “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.” We have different standards of beauty and it is not only based on physical characteristics and but something insightful and much deeper. In other words, the likeability of a person is shaped by our experiences, perceptions and the dictates of our upbringing. To quote further what Ruffa Gutierrez, Miss Philippines-World 1993 when she was asked how would she tell a girl suffering from low self-esteem to feel good about herself? She answered: "I would tell her to believe in herself because it is not only physical beauty that is important but also inner beauty. Just like what the Little Prince said, 'the essential things are invisible to the naked eye.' Definitely, character and personality are more important than physical beauty."

Miss Philippines World 1993, Ruffa Gutierrez during the final question and answer portion at Miss World 1993.

Definitely, everyone would want to become physically attractive. And definitely, the first basis in getting attracted to someone is through physical attraction. But eventually, in somebody’s search for someone really beautiful, they are gauged on their personality and reactions to certain situations to eventually ferret out the candidates’ beauty from within. Thus in the final analysis, the lady or woman who has the most beautiful face does not end up winning the plum because she was measured less in terms of her beauty from within.

Take for example, the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, the girls are initially judged according to their beauty and physical attributes. They are measured according to their ability to carry themselves in bikini or in  bathing suits  as well as show elan in their evening gowns. But further, they are trimmed to the semi-finalists in their ability to respond to questions that would bring out how personable they are. They are not really judged based on how intelligent they are but how ready and witty they acquit themselves in bringing out the best in them during the interviews. In the recent Miss World Competition, the candidates participated in different events and they were rated based on their performances in those events. The candidates’ capability to espouse the agenda of the organization had the most bearing on who should win it all. On the other hand the Miss Earth Beauty Pageant is in search of someone who is not only beautiful but someone who can champion the cause of environmental preservation and protection.

Left to right: Miss Universe 1973 from the Philippines, Margarita Moran; Miss Universe 1994 from India, Sushmita Sen and Miss Universe 2002 from Russia, Oxana Fedorova (dethroned).

In the recent years, we notice that pageants go through a cycle. In the past, organizations look for pretty, intelligent and witty women. The 1990’s is the era where distortion of what is beautiful came about. The term “enhanced beauty” came to fore and many nations resorted to advances in cosmetic surgery and dermatology just to achieve the perfect beauty. Venezuela topped the list in creating such beauty and many nations followed suit. But if you notice the recent choices in most international pageants, the fresh, the seemingly untouched and natural beauties are beginning to be noticed again in the international arena. There is not steadfast rule therefore of what perfect beauty should be.

A beauty in one era may not be a beauty in someone else’s time. Beauty contests are still relevant and we cannot avoid it, physical attributes of a participant would still be the primary criterion in choosing the winner. The so-called beauty from within still remains to be the method in segregating the chaff from the grains.