Waiting to hear their names called… photo: courtesy of The Sun
First they were fighting for their lives. Now they’re fighting for the crown?
Yesterday in Haifa, Israel, 14 female Holocaust survivors aged 74 to 97 competed in a beauty pageant for the title of Miss Holocaust Survivor (at the very least they could have extended the courtesy of Ms. Holocaust Survivor.) Shimon Sabag, director of Yad Ezer L’Haver (Helping Hand), the organization that produced this event, said that the pageant was a celebration of life and that “the fact that so many women entered prove that it’s a good idea.”
I beg to differ.
That so many women — the 14 contestants came from a pool of 300 — does not mean it was a good idea. I’m no scientist but if you’re going to use the words “fact” and (a variation of the word) “proof,” it should at least pass the smell test. And this pageant reeks of wrong on so many levels.
Critics have alternately described the pageant as macabre, inappropriate, misguided, offensive, and gimmicky. I believe it is all those things. And it’s surely in bad taste.
Ms. Sabag says the winners were chosen based on their personal stories of survival and rebuilding their lives after the war. She’s quick to note that “physical beauty was only a tiny part of the competition.” Grrr.
I wonder if she and the other organizers of this pageant were responding to the fact that survivors —and their children and grandchildren — are desperate to keep the stories of the Holocaust alive. There are so many books and memoirs out there and many people complain that there’s nothing left to be said, or at least nothing new. This was a nice deflection perhaps, to offer up something new to talk about something that’s becoming increasingly old. But even so, it still feels crass and misguided.
I like what Gal Mor of Israeli site, Holes in the Net, wrote:
“Why should a decayed, competitive institution that emphasizes women’s appearance be used as inspiration, instead of allowing them to tell their story without gimmicks? This is one step short of ‘Survivor-Holocaust’ or ‘Big Brother Auschwitz.’ It leaves a bad taste.”
Indeed it does. What do you think?
Never took part in a pageant but I’m guessing there is more to it than winning, otherwise these types of events wouldn’t be so popular. Maybe if the organizers had offered “a chance to tell your story” without the pageant thing around it, not so many women would have responded.
They wanted to make it women-only for whatever reason, not only appearances – I mean I”m sure men attended in the audience, right? – but to make it fun in a specific way, and that’s somehow what drew the women in, a chance to be best friends at the mall together, something like that?
As the child of perpetrators and deniers (feel free to delete this if that makes my comment unpalatable or not good to leave up) it doesn’t bewilder me as much as you, not that I’d have the right to have any judgmental reaction anyway. But it strikes me as fundamentally more life-affirming, yes,than anything my misanthropic folks could come up with in old age – they were all about social jockeying, rumors, sort of the pageant or more like a daily gauntlet, without the open competition – at least these chicks are democratic about beauty and how you present yourself: let’s make it a fun contest and get to know a bunch more people your age before the chances to do so get fewer and fewer. I’m thinking they may stay in touch after.
These are old people who have e-mail and cell=phones, and dates, and yes, beauty appointments – I say go for it….better than sitting around…maybe?
I wasn’t wholly offended by the pageant although I do think it was misguided. The contestants apparently had fun and I certainly wouldn’t discount or deny them that. Maybe my ill feelings toward it are due to the fact that I just turned 40 a few months ago and thought I was finally on the other side of the “being judged by physical appearance” divide. No, I’m not so naive to actually believe that, but I do hope that by the time I’m a septa- or octogenarian that I will be judged by my wisdom and wit. Actually, scratch that. I hope not to be judged at all.
Surprised by the comment of above that old people “just sit around.” Many of the people I know 70 or over are still working at intellectually-challenging jobs, trying out new careers (one just graduated from social work school) or–if they have retired–are taking courses such as memoir-writing or jewelry-making. Most of them travel extensively to interesting places ( Thailand, Russia, India). To the point of the “Miss Holocaust Survivor” contest, I think it’s one of the most horrible ideas I’ve come across. Yes, we should all remember the Holocaust and learn from it, but why celebrate it? What’s next? Miss Croatia Survivor, Miss Zimbabwe Survivor??? Women need to protest against being used to promote this kind of exploitation.
Oh my, only saw this now. “sitting around like my (abusive) parents” I should have said more clearly. Honestly, this was only meant to describe specifically my adoptive parents who didn’t have a lot of friends, not all people over some age.