Miss Ability

I just caught this on the news, and wondered what everyone else thought.

In the Netherlands, the latest top rating show is surprising a lot of people, and causing a lot on controvacy. The reality tv program is a beauty pagent... with a different.

"Miss Ability" covers the basic beauty contest rules - beautiful women, personality and winning smiles, the evening wear and swim suit rounds, but all the contestants have a physical disability. Most of the 12 contestants spend most or all of their days in wheel chairs, some are missing limbs due to accident or birth defect, yet all have overcome their severe disability to succeed in their chosen fields.

What do you think? I think, if marketed correctly, this is a wonderful thing. You don't have to be 5'8, a size six and blonde to be beautiful. You could be in a chair, and still have a winning personality and curves to die for. I was sitting there watching this, and these women were beautiful. One of the women is restricted to her chair for over 20 hours a day because her muscles can't support her body in an upright position for more than 5 minutes at a time, but in the bikini round *damn* she looked like Eva Longoria! Long dark hair, big eyes and curves to die for, so what she's in a chair?

I think if it empowers women (and men for that matter) with physical limitations go for it! A woman is a woman regardless how life may challenge her, and most women want to feel beautiful, if only just once.

When I worked for a supermarket over here year back, there was a regular customer who's name was Vikki. Although she was chair bound, and slightly challenged mentally, she would come out with things that would make me laugh so hard I would cry. Vikki and her carer fell in love, and had 2 able bodied children together. She came tearing up to me one day in tears and handed me an envelope. Her and Paul were getting hitched, and she wanted me to be there. Watching him wheel her down the path at the wedding had me in tears, the look of loving in his face was undescribable.

She came up to me in the reception, and took my hand and thanked me for being there. "I just wanted you to see me how Paul see's me every day, as a beautiful princess." That has stuck with me to this day, just because Vikki was in a wheel chair, it didn't mean she wasn't beautiful.

Good on them I say, if you have the guts to get on national tv in a bikini, then you are a winner regardless.