By Farah G. Decano

 

FORMER First Lady Imelda Marcos, during her heyday, knew how to throw parties. They were usually luxurious and grand. Remember her family’s yacht socials and celebrity-filled gatherings?  Looks like her son, the now President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is slowly following her footsteps.

The gathering of hundreds of Filipinos at South San Francisco Conference Center in California several days ago, organized by the officials of Marcos Jr., was not the usual boring meet and greet occasion.  The crowd, while waiting for the Filipino president to arrive, were treated to good old music and sumptuous meals consisting of steak, chicken wraps, mousse cake, and drinks. Celebrities such as Jaya, Florante, JR, and Freddie Aguilar, entertained the throngs of Filipinos who sang along with them.  It was festive. It was fun. It was disarming.

I have nothing against these festive-like assemblies.  I won’t say that the funds could have been better spent in the poverty-stricken parts of the Philippines.  Once in a while, our kababayans from the States and those from other parts of the world deserve some break from the usual solicitations they receive from the so-called less fortunate.  Huwag lang masanay sana sa ganitong bonggang-bonggang pagtitipon. 

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Let it not be said that Filipinos are sour losers but this recent failure of the Filipino representative to place in the top 5 of the recent 72nd Miss Universe beauty pageant seems to have triggered a lot of questions in the minds of pageant afficionados and ordinary viewers alike. 

First, Binibining Pilipinas-Universe Michelle Marquez Dee won the most number of special awards this year.  

Second, the top 5 on the official Miss Universe El Salvador page included Miss Philippines for about ten minutes before the list was corrected. 

Third, the Thai owner of the Miss Universe global franchise seems to have put on display her partiality that was caught on video.  Was it a co-incidence that Miss Thailand suddenly replaced Miss Philippines on the top 5 list after it was updated? 

As has been said many times, netizens talking about the issue concede that Miss Nicaragua won the crown.  What most cannot understand is why Miss Philippines did not land on the top 5. 

Did the judges have a problem that Miss Philippines did not fit the usual template of beauty contest winners? 

The Top 5 winners of this year’s pageant did not deviate from the traditional picks. They wore long flowing hair and body-hugging gowns that emphasize their relevant concave and convex curves.

Miss Philippines did not present herself as anyone’s damsel.  Instead, she displayed a don’t mess with me attitude on stage.  Ms. Dee’s choices for the national costume and evening gown competitions were anything but ordinary.  Her outfits, though meaningful, were more angular. They were avant-garde but the garbs were perfect for her figure.  She unapologetically wore them with confidence and charm which made her stand out.

Oh well, the judges have made their choice.  Probably those who appreciate strength in women who break the mold would value Ms. Dee’s style.

Someone commented that Michelle Dee deserved her luckless fate because she did not embrace her essence as a woman.  I cannot fathom how this person was able to decipher Miss Dee’s alleged resistance to her being a woman. 

Obviously, the commenter alluded to the beauty queen’s admission as a member of the LGBTQ plus community.  It is sad to note that Miss Dee’s critic was coming from a place of ignorance on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.    

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With the beautiful and brainy Michelle Dee identifying herself as bisexual, she just broke the stereotypes about LGBTQ people as the ugly ones, the undesirables, the weirdos, and the refuse of society.  She makes the members of the rainbow group look so good.

Miss Dee’s stiff shoulder movements may have shown in probably few unguarded moments but she still appeared very regal nevertheless.  Probably its time to accept that subtle gaits do not make a woman less of who she is.   Womanhood, beauty, and androgyny do not have to be incompatible after all.

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