Why Manushi Chillar becoming Miss World 2017 does not make me proud

Manushi Chillar was crowned Miss World 2017 on 19th November at China

Beautiful is a very commonly used term; but it is it also has a lot of implications. From poetry to landscape to people, this word can be used as an adjective for everything. What I find beautiful might not be beautiful for you. We can all choose our versions or definitions of what we consider beautiful. But is that choice or version really ours?

Take a look at this meme. This has been made so that you can tag a 'Rahul' from your friend list in it. The idea is to annoy Rahul and to make you laugh. Rahul will not want to marry a girl like her because she is dark and fat; the opposite of what is beautiful in our definition.

Do you know who she is? She is American actress Gabourey Sidibe. She has been nominated for Oscar for her acting. But we do not even know her name, let alone her Oscar nomination. We judge people on the basis of their looks, body and voice, instead of their work.

This idea of beauty is not our own. We learn about it from the society we live in and also give it back in turn. Beauty pageants and modelling agencies analyse beauty in terms of a slim body, firm bust, long neck and a curved waist.

Beauty pageants promote a particular kind of body, a particular kind of woman. It is definitely not bad to be endowed with a certain bust or waist size. But the problem is, they are promoted as being better than the others. They are considered 'beautiful' at the cost of other women who do not have that particular body type. These pageants promote the idea that every woman should look like that 'role model.'When one kind of body and beauty is promoted, women who do not fit into that category have to struggle to find validation within our society.

And that's why I am not proud of Manushi Chillar.

A meme that has gone virsal on social media

This is not to discredit their hard work or struggle. But has that hard work and struggle helped other women in anyway? You can think of the answer yourself.

One look at the Femina Miss India website will give you an idea about it. One can write an article on every point, but here are a few important 'requirements' for the next Miss India :

1. It is essential for the candidate to be of 18 to 25 years of age. (as on 31st December 2018)

2. The candidate should have height of at least 5'5" inches or above.

3. The applicant should not be engaged or married.

4. It is important that candidate have never embraced motherhood, or have been pregnant earlier or during the phase of competition.

5. The willing candidate should be a holder of passport, so that she can conveniently travel to foreign countries.

6. The applicant by nature and habits should carry the traits of a female.

Participants at beauty paegeants have to adhere to specific beauty standards

Of course it is a 'miss' contest and a 'mrs' cannot participate in it. But what about a girl who was forcefully married off at the age of 16 and now has separated from her husband? She may just be 20, but even then she cannot participate in the contest.

What about a woman who got pregnant before marriage, either by choice or was forced to? What about a man who underwent a sex change operation at the age of 13 and who is now a girl? What about the woman who has had to undergo treatment for any kind of mental health? And how do you judge someone's moral character?

What about women who had been forced into marriages or pregnancies at an early age and are now single?

There are various contests for married women and for men too. Every time the message is clear-only one type of body is attractive. In the case of men, attractiveness is measured by a broad chest, rippling muscles and a tiny waist.

If beauty truly lies in the eyes of the beholder, then why is there a contest for it?

(This article was written in Hindi by Prateeksha for The Lallantop and has been translated by Tina Das for OddNaari)