Re: Bikini Contest

[Karen Olstad <olstad@mail.wsu.edu>]

In our discussion with our teen at dinner last night, my daughter indicated
that her impression was that Friday night's event was primarily focussed on
the under-age dance club aspect rather than the bikini contest which will
supposedly last less than ten minutes.  When I asked her why they couldn't
just have the dancing without the bikini contest, her response was "BECAUSE
NO GUYS WOULD COME!"  I guess the presumption is that guys will go to watch
girls strut around in bikinis and girls will go because there will be guys
there.  Maybe some people will actually end up dancing.  

I thought it was especially telling that the club claimed they couldn't have
a similar male contest due to "time constraints." I believe the truth is
that The Beach knows good and well that no high school age boy in Moscow
would don a Speedo and walk the catwalk in such a contest and holding one
would only drive other males away. It says a lot about our community and
society in general that girls are willing to either do this themselves or
cheer for their friends who are participating (while sniping about the
participants to others).  I doubt that it has occurred to the participants
that they are being used as a draw for The Beach to get boys in the club so
that it can cover its overhead during spring break. I would be interested to
find out how _all_ the young women present will feel about the contest and
themselves after witnessing this event.  
And, as if high school isn't traumatic enough with social pecking orders and
cliques, now we will have the officially crowned winner (and runners up) of
the High School Bikini Contest!

Thankfully my daughter and I will be out of town on Friday, though I will be
interested to hear if the event indeed takes place and what the fallout (if
any) is.

-Karen Olstad

>At 07:13 PM 3/9/99 -0800, Lois Melina wrote:
>Whether the young women of Moscow walk down a catwalk in bikinis to be
>"judged" on their physical appearance is not trivial because it speaks to
>the values we as parents and as community members want our young people to
>have. I want the young women of Moscow, like young women everywhere, to
>value themselves enough to want to be evaluated for a broad range of
>abilities. I want the young men of Moscow, like young men everywhere, to
>look at women and see more than what immediately jumps out at them. When we
>"measure" our young women I hope it is to see to what degree they have
>fulfilled their potential and given back to their communities; not to see
>what their bra size is. When our young men look at our young women, I hope
>it is to see the depth of their character not just the depth of their
>cleavage. Unless we as parents, and as leaders in the community, monitor
>this, we will raise a superficial generation--one that does not have the
>capacity to care about the civil rights of welfare recipients.
>
>Lois Melina
>----------
>> From: G M <herecomestheflood@yahoo.com>
>> To: Vision 2020 <vision2020@moscow.com>
>> Subject: Bikinimania
>> Date: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 6:46 PM
>> 
>> 
>> Can't the bikini contests just wait until we get the new pool built? 
>> And then, to appease/please Mayme Trumble, include guys?
>> 
>> But seriously...all this reaction about teens in bikinis while
>> virtually no one comments on recent posts concerning the dark and
>> forboding nature of:
>> 
>> 1) Requiring welfare recipients to submit to urinalysis.
>> 
>> 2) Proposed broad investigatory powers of FDIC.
>> 
>> Wow.
>> 
>> I'm no "Beach" fan, but considering other scenerios looming before us,
>> young adults parading in two-piece bathing suits seems somewhat, well,
>> trivial.
>> 
>> 
>> Greg Meyer
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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