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The rise and fall of the Asian beauty queen

As TV pageant ratings hit the floor, the dirt around the contestants piles up

At one time in Asia, pageant winners were considered role models on the fast track to stardom. Today, the word “beauty queen” is mired in sexy scandals that have left conservatives aghast. How has pageant culture changed -- and will the tiaras continue to sparkle through this century?

No bikinis please, we’re Asian

Svelte young women have been strutting on local stages since the early 20th century -- early examples include a 1934 Miss Siam pageant to promote Constitution Day. Thailand, India and Japan have been sending representatives to international contests, such as Miss World and Miss Universe, since the 1950s.

Asian pageants follow the familiar format -- evening gown, swimsuit, talent, interview -- but with a conservative twist. Japan culture blogger Neil Duckett attended the invite-only 2008 Miss Nippon competition. He observes, “Japanese contests are much more refined and not as ‘sexually orientated’ as Western ones. The categories consisted of Evening Wear, Bikini and Traditional, where each girl would perform a tea ceremony.”

Some parts of Asia are so reserved that the mere act of wearing a swimsuit causes controversy. Since debuting in 2002, the Miss Tibet contest has been scorned for showing skin in a country where women wear clothing to their ankles.

The beauty queen dethroned

Until the mid-1990s, a pageant crown was a stepping stone to a high-profile career. Many of Bollywood’s reigning actresses debuted at Femina Miss India, including Aishwarya Rai, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra and Sushmita Sen. Some queens, such as Imelda Marcos, became political heavyweights.

But in recent years, contestants have only been making headlines in the tabloids.

Last August, Japan’s Miss Universe finalist Emiri Miyasaka caused a public outcry over her costume, a black kimono so short that it revealed her hot-pink underwear.

In November, 2008 Miss Japan Universe Hiroko Mima was thought to star in a sex tape with Miss Trinidad and Tobago and her boyfriend. The third party turned out to be a lookalike, but the accusations tarnished her image and made it onto CNNGo’s list of top 5 sex scandals.

More than a few Miss Philippines and Miss Hong Kongs are suspected of being “kept women,” or mistresses to rich Chinese businessmen. In January, 2003 Miss Hong Kong Kate Tsui raised eyebrows with her extravagant shopping sprees and new HK$20 million home. Although she only had HK$1,000 income per month, 2005 winner Tracy Ip managed to buy two mansions, claiming she got the money from playing the stock market.

Singapore’s queens took the cake for bad behavior. 2009 Miss Singapore Universe Rachel Kum lied about her plastic surgery and posed for racy photos -- including one where she gave a birthday cake fellatio. Ris Low lost her 2009 Miss Singapore World crown when the press discovered she was convicted of credit card fraud and sentenced to two years probation. She is now a condom spokesperson.

Why is pageant culture plummeting?

Teo Ser Lee, winner of three Singapore beauty pageants, explains, “Singapore pageants are more badly organized by the year. There are insufficient sponsors and poor media exposure, hence lower quality candidates. We used to look up to the winners as role models, but not any more.”

Prasert Joemjutithum, a Thai archivist of beauty queen photos, adds that pageants have lost their prestige. “Values have changed and we now have modelling agencies, talent shows and, most important of all, reality TV, as bridges towards a career in showbiz.”

Some contests, such as Miss Singapore Universe, have given up on TV broadcasts and are banking on live events at resorts. Others rely on novelties, such as Thailand’s Miss Jumbo Queen (for plus-sized beauties) and Mr Gay Hong Kong.

According to Lee, none of these efforts will counter the fading public interest in pageants. “In the 1980s, we used to sit around the TV, pore over every report about the contestants and even join contests to guess the winner. Nowadays, nobody really remembers who the past or current winners are.” She laments that today’s contests are set up to attract “all brawn and no brains” misses. “With this trend, we will never be able to remove the stigma attached to beauty queens.”

The Arab beauties - الجمال العربية

Arab people (Arabic: عربي‎, ʿarabi) or Arabs (العرب al-ʿarab) are a panethnicity of peoples of various ancestral origins, religious backgrounds and historic identities, whose members, on an individual basis, identify as such on one or more of linguistic, cultural, political, or genealogical grounds. Those self-identifying as Arab, however, rarely do so on their own. Most hold multiple identities, with a more localized prioritized ethnic identity — such as Egyptian, Lebanese, or Palestinian — in addition to further tribal, village and clan identities.

This list excluded some beauty queens from Egypt such as Antigone Costanda (Winner of Miss World 1954), Antigone Costanda (2nd Runner-up of Miss World 1953) or Dalida (Miss Egypt 1954) because they are all of European descent (Greek or Italian). See also: The Arab World, Egypt, Lebanon. Some countries in the Middle East are not Arab states: Iran, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel.



Georgina Rizk - Lebanon
(Miss Universe 1971)



Nancy Afiouni - Lebanon
(Miss Intercontinental 2007)



Sabrina Houssami - Australia
(Miss World 2006 - 2nd Runner-up)



Dominique Hourani - Lebanon
(Miss Intercontinental 2003)



Christina Sawaya - Lebanon
(Miss International 2002)



Valerie Domínguez - Colombia
(Miss Universe 2006 - Top 10 finalist)



Rima Fakih - USA
(Miss USA 2010)



Valeska Saab - Ecuador
(Miss World 2007 - Top 16 Semifinalist)



Meriam George - Egypt
(Miss Earth 2006 - Top 8 Finalist)



Nicole-Rita Ghazal - Australia
(Miss World 2002 - Top 10 finalist)



Anabella Hilal - Lebanon
(Miss World 2006 - Top 17 semifinalist)



Jessica Kahawaty - Lebanon
(Miss International 2008 - Top 12 semifinalist)



Marie-Ann Umali - Philippines
(Competed in Miss World 2009)



Rana Raslan - Israel
(Competed in Miss Universe 1999)

Miss USA 2010 Favorites of Mundial Beauties

TOP 5



OKLAHOMA - Morgan Woolard



CALIFORNIA - Nicole Johnson



MICHIGAN - Rima Fakih



TENNESSEE - Tucker Perry



COLORADO - Jessica Hartman

Miss Bahamas 2010, Braneka Bassett - Will she be the first Bahamian semifinalist at Miss Universe?

All the best wishes to Braneka and Michelle Malcolm, you guys will make your island nation proud at this year Miss Universe and Miss World. You go girls, kisses from Vietnam! And we can say "It is better in the Bahamas!"

Braneka Bassett, a 20-year old model and student from Freeport, was crowned Miss Bahamas 2010. The 1.76 m beauty will represent her country at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants this year.

The 1st runner-up was Anastagia Pierre, who will represent Bahamas at the Miss Intercontinental 2010 pageant; and the 2nd runner-up was Janay Pyfrom, who will travel to the Miss Supranational 2010 pageant in Poland next August. Read more.