Congratulations to R'Bonney Gabriel, the new Miss Universe

Congratulations and all that, but I have a question....

Why aren't beauty queens all that good looking?

I looked at this one and previous winners, but not a one was any better looking that a thousand women you see on the streets (in a non-prostitute sort of way), and most were far less attractive than women I work with or see in passing.

I know one beauty queen, a very pleasant lady to talk to, but hardly sexy and, frankly, I can't understand how she's seen as the third most beautiful woman in the world that year.

Don't get me wrong, she's not ugly, but my son's assistant teacher is way more attractive than her.

So, the question remains, why do not especially good looking women always win these contests?

@Fred

They are not judged on beauty alone. She was well prepared and probably received a high score for her response to the questions.

Crowned in my Hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana and her middle name is NOLA.

@Fred
They are not judged on beauty alone. She was well prepared and probably received a high score for her response to the questions.
-@Moon Dog

I'm questioning her (and almost every other competitor's) looks, I'm not suggesting she isn't intelligent or anything else. I've just been chatting with one of my son's teachers. Highly inteligent, able to respond to questions quickly, accurately, and with a flair that proves her intelligence, but with stunning beauty that beats every beauty contestant I've ever seen.

She isn't on her own. That makes me wonder why the judges always pick sharp features that make the women unattractive. ****

Said it before. After 26,000 plus posts you still don't get it.

All aside some blokes like the Barker sisters that chase parked cars while some chase the unattainable, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Slap to you Fred, derogatory and especially Homophobic remarks/quips are not welcome on any forum, true colours revealed now.

My opinion,

Cheers, Steve.

These women are all professional beauty contestants . . .not some walk-on that gets discovered. Even Transgenders have won beauty contests.

It's a business, much of the real world doesn't give a hoot or have any interest in beauty pageants.

I actually thought the comment about judges was funny.

I grew up in the SF Bay Area in the 60's & 70's and lived in San Francisco in the 80's and 90's. I had three roomates at differing points that were gay. We got along great. My first GF had an apartment 2 blocks from Polk Gulch, which at the time was very gay. The Castro dist was just beginning. Numerous of our favorite eating establishments were on Polk. Some were very "queer" and when I say that it means to describe  the flamboyant, aloofness of the gay owners and employees. But they were entertaining, and the food was great.

I mention these things to establish I'm not prejudiced by sexual orientation.

But I do believe, based on my many years in SF, most gay men, couldn't judge beauty in women. They could judge the hell out of their blush or mascara though! 

Hello everyone,

Please note that some posts had to be removed.

This thread is about the announcement of the new Miss Universe, let's avoid debates related to this topic that lead to misunderstandings and irrelevant posts.

At the end of the day a beauty contest has to do with beauty but like you said beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Thank you.

Cheryl

Expat.com team

And alluding to Gay judges in a beauty pageant? What was gained there? Thoughts like that don't hold water here in an open forum.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl yea but funny if not taken out of context.

I must always remind myself. Written words on the internet can be taken far from ones INTENDED context. Understandably even. Ironically, we sometimes then argue about the same thing we're portraying in a way. Like maybe (don't take this out of context) taking the comment about judges too seriously is in actuality bitching about the same "wokeness" we're complaining about?

in other words, taking shit out of context and too seriously could easily lead to one big circle of back and forth, trying to disprove the very same things we're taking part in! lol a vicious circle.

These women are all professional beauty contestants . . .not some walk-on that gets discovered. Even Transgenders have won beauty contests.
It's a business, much of the real world doesn't give a hoot or have any interest in beauty pageants.
-@Enzyte Bob

My impression is that the Philippines is the world capital for beauty pageants?

PH has won it many times but as said in removed posts in this thread that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well done Philippines and then some, good onya as us Aussies say.

Cheers, Steve.

Congratulations today to another Filipina stunner ..

"Bianca Bustamante finishes in points in Dubai F4"

By Rick Olivares - Philstar.com - January 16th 2023

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2023/01/16/2237992/bianca-bustamante-finishes-35th-points-dubai-f4

Bianca Bustamante

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Bustamante finished well in her first races ever with Italian racing team Prema in the Formula 4 UAE Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

The 17-year old Filipina could have finished in the 20s as she finished P26 in the first round of the qualifiers and P28 in the second round.

Unfortunately, she did not finish in the third round after her car was hit from behind in the opening lap and she had to retire. So, Bustamante’s final position in that race was in 35th spot.

“Not everything went our way this weekend but I learned so much from every single experience and I leave here a much stronger driver,” Bustamante penned in her Instagram account (@racebia).

“Qualifying was a highlight for me as I was able to put down my best lap time of the entire weekend when it counted the most.

Although it only landed me in P25, I got within 1.4 seconds of P1 and only missed the top by a few tenths.”

“The three races themselves were up and down in the results,” Bianca added. “I made some mistakes in race one which dropped me down in the order. It also gave me the chance to fight back from P36 to P26 which was really fun.” Race 2 saw some really big battles going from P34 to P28.”

Bustamante will take a week off before she heads to Kuwait for the next race.

--

We were very excited when Skelly Ivy Florida (a.k.a. the Black Barbie or Biliran) made it to the Miss Universe Philippines semi finals in 2020. She was a fan favorite and very attractive but she stumbled a bit on her question and didn't make it to the finals.

I agree that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and also that there are more beautiful women walking around the streets and Malls than in these competitions. Let us not forget that all the contestants will spend hours having there hair and makeup done before going on stage.

I also think that far too many women are excluded from these competitions because of age, marital status, the fact that they have children, etc. This in my mind is not right.

One thing I will say about women from the Philippines and Asia in general is that they manage to combine being beautiful, cute and sexy all in one package and that makes for a great combination. As for the three women pictured on this thread, I may be watching F4 this season instead of any beauty pageants.

That said, congratulations to the winner.

`

Can't resist this. My wife, we're happily married 12 years

Raised on the Palawan family farm, then school teaching

Photo taken two years ago, when she was 46 years young

Gracefully grows more heart and soul beautiful, every day

`

These women are all professional beauty contestants . . .not some walk-on that gets discovered. Even Transgenders have won beauty contests.
It's a business, much of the real world doesn't give a hoot or have any interest in beauty pageants.
-@Enzyte Bob

I agree. Joining pageants is not like auditioning for a talent show like American Idol. To have a chance at winning, a contestant needs not just beauty and talent. She will need a team of professionals consisting of fitness / nutrition experts, trainers who can help her do her "walk," coaches to help her catch up on world events / issues, review possible questions and how to answer, etc. and fashion designers who can make some sleek fashionable clothes and fancy dresses and gowns (some of which can cost up to 1 million pesos). She will need an entourage who can do her hair, make-up, help her with her clothes and swimwear (I saw on Last Week Tonight that contestants use butt glue to keep their swimwear in place. LOL). In short, she will need people who can help her in convincing judges that she has more beauty and brains than the rest of the pack. All of these cost a lot of $$$$$$. If a contestant cannot raise enough funding, she's out of luck.

There was a long period sometime in the 80's-90's where Miss Philippines did not even qualify for the first round. I vaguely remember that contestants were complaining that they did not get enough funding and that the Miss Philippines organization did not help them out. But now, with the internet and social media, one can easily get in touch with sponsors whose products they can promote on social media.

It's big business. What I like about pageants is that it gives artists, designers, dressmakers and crafts people who make the costumes / outfits recognition and perhaps the big break they need, especially if their candidate wins.