Thoughts on beauty are hurling through cyberspace faster than you can say "Imelda." Joanne's even started a whole blog on the subject. Gladys is putting together a panel which turned into a conference which will likely morph into God only knows what. She of the rhinestone barette and sparkly pink lip gloss is talking anthology. And Bino? Bino's not only looking for his Pinoy Holiday Blogger Party invitation, he's ready to throw his dollar's worth of centavos on the table and points out—quite accurately—that the "Miss Unibers" chapter (and, hell, the whole novel!) from Umbrella Country more than entitles him to deliver his treatise on beauty. To which I can only say...bring it, Bino!
Meanwhile, I was reading an interview with Nigerian writer Chris Abani, who has this to say about African writing:
African art must exist in an appreciative context that is outside of the power of Westernization to reduce or empower. We allow access to the Western reader but also say we don't care about what you think. This is what we are trying to show you. If you get it, fine. If you don't get it, we don't care.
And while this has all sorts of obvious applications to our writing, all the recent discussion made me think about his words in terms of...you guessed it...beauty. I'm so annoyed with how I continue to choose to feel angry about being fetishized, objectified, made invisible/inconsequential, thought of as "less than," etc. etc. I want to pull a Chris Abani, at last. I want to say—and truly feel—If you get me, fine. If you don't, I don't care.
10 comments:
ach!!! bino realuyo, of course!
omg, how are we going to get the money for all of the people we want to bring in???
and of course what immediately comes to mind is a beauty pageant fundraiser. *groan*
as the fantasy gets bigger and bigger, i realize that at some point, reality is going to put its foot down. also suggested today: alleluia panis and...and someone else. sh*t my memory's already going bad. must organize this on paper soon!
nice to meet you gladys...:-)
gmorning queens ...
nice quote from chris abani. there is such a web of issues surrounding the pinay beauty politics, which makes this topic a potentially explosive topic for public discussion (inotherwords, yum!). my two cents (which will be a dollar soon) is first: the filipino gay man projection of fantasy/desire (cuz u know they run these shows) and then second: beauty as power (starlets and filipino social hierarchies). i also think the politicking changes when you remove this issue from the philippines and situate it in the u.s. because now, not only are we including the white man's oriental female fetishization and stereotyping, we are also opening the pandora's box in the american emasculation of the asian male in this country. and it's very hard to address the issue of filipino-american male machismo when in the society at large, they're emasculated (grrrr...) and 8===D-less [chinamen/gooks, etc]. let me stop.
p.s. my feelings about beauty contests didnt stop me from cheering when my cuz made it in miss universe. :-P
-miss appropriated
hello bino! it's an honor to 'meet' the writer of umbrella country here at ver's. what you've said about how the issues when you change the context from the philippines to the u.s. is totally. right. on.
we'll see what we can do to get you here, especially since you're california dreamin' and all...
oops! sorry for the f'ed up syntax there: i meant to write, "how the issues change when you move the context from the philippines to the u.s...."
gmorning queens, this discussion has touched a raw nerve in many of us, huh? thanks to miss ver for letting me draw x-rated emoticons on her blog.
gladys, i'm due for a cali visit next year so perhaps i can make it just in time for the beauty pageant. :-)
but i also wanna be in the blog pahrtay. i promise to be decent.
Yay, Bino! Can you make it February or March? Gotta start planning the details...
Oh, and the Pinoy Holiday Bloggers Party - Ver, is this an actual or virtual party? I was hoping it would be real.
An actual party! Sunny and I looked at the calendar during the playdate and thought December 10th sounded good. Will post/e-mail soon!
december 10? but, but i have a reading for the aptly named series, "writers with drinks" at the make-out room in the mission. AND. ob's in town! can we combine these? pleeez?
But of COURSE!! We must, we must. Backchannel and we'll put it together!
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