After the Miss England contestant quit the Miss World contest midway leaving the organizers and public with slacked jaws and frowned brows, no one is yet able to comprehend the ‘exploitation’ as alleged by the contestant. Neither have we understood the context of phrases like ‘behave like monkeys’ and worst of all the word ‘prostitute’ here. No one in this country can fathom any need for a middle- aged- people- free environment for beauty pageants. And if that is not a pre-requisite for any beauty contest, Miss England – Miss Mila Magee, who is a good adult aged 24 yrs, should have known how to interact and behave with middle aged men and women. It’s especially so when we call the global con- test ‘Beauty with a Purpose’. In this context, I can only think of those spoiled grownups in this digital era living in a digital bubble where ‘modern/ contemporary’ is only what is young, mesmerizing, instant and abrupt. Miss Magee should have had the patience and right etiquette to talk to elderly men seated next to her and to his family. At least we/the world would expect that a person anointed by the British pageant (by an intelligent jury) would be accomplished enough to be able to do so. We would like to believe, she is one of the better lots from the younger generation from that country with the most gloriest history/ past.
It’s impossible to get the context how interacting with middle aged people translates into an ecosystem ‘stuck in the past’; and having to talk to them is having to ‘play like monkeys’ If this is so, it is time we look at the Gen Z people of her kind who would soon take up the world affairs. We need to know if Miss Magee represented a tip of the iceberg of a bigger problem in the millennials in England (worse global). If this is so, we need to look into the parents and teachers/schools who are responsible for their up- bringing and inculcating such thought processes.
This is a matter of concern if a beauty queen with a “Purpose” selected by a beauty pageant of a developed country describes her perception of the environment like this, how bizarre an average youngsters can get. I believe it is within the responsibility of gen X and generation Y to respond genuinely to peculiar behaviour of such young people in public life to prevent further deterioration and most importantly prevent any dam- age to the country’s image.
In order to have a responsible generation, any educated adult be it a beauty queen or not, must know that their words and actions have consequences especially in public life and especially when someone is of British origin in Indian soil. They must explain their words in public domain or apologise and should not be allowed to get away without any consequences.
We do see youngsters these days deep diving into their mobile phones when seated with elders or mature people talking or explaining patiently any issue or topic. Gen Z (don’t mean all) is too impatient to hear them out and instead too quick to reach out to ChatGPT or any other AI generated tool to discuss and analyse any issue, without probably the basic understanding that the AI tool also needs the support of a human mind and a sharp strong one. These are the kind of young adults for whom talking to elders is ‘silly small talk’ or ‘having to sit there like mon- keys.
About the word Prostitute, Miss Magee can’t get the benefit of doubt of poor English vocabulary like a person from another country would have got. The use of this word here doesn’t have sexual connotation as I understand, but conveys the other dictionary mean- ing of the word – ‘unworthy use of talents for financial or other gains.
This word in this context is hard to fit in as none of the other contestants and Ms Julia Morley -the CEO and Chairperson of the Miss World Organization has not raised any red flag. I had personally been to the contest venue a couple of times and met the contestants from all over the globe who have been enjoying their time in this profound event of their lives. I must say on the 24th of May soon after the departure of Miss Magee when I got to meet the contestants, I found all girls working peacefully. It is one-off perception of Miss Magee and we should seek explanation from her or her country as this did leave the state of Telangana and the country red faced.
Here, I can’t help but mention that we are forced to see colonial era mindset hues and racial tinge to Miss Ma- gee’s perception, behaviour and choice of words to make her allegations.
And I believe though, as underscored by Mr Tharoor and many others thereafter, we have never got any apology for our stolen jewels in British museums, we must seek one here as British tabloids and international newspapers and TV channels have carried write-ups and news around this as ‘unethical environment’ in Telangana India. This is maligning our country’s reputation. The word Purpose in the beauty pagents also mean a persona that accepts mistakes and apologise for the same.
My view is that, there may have been other ways, may- be more aesthetically ap- pealing ways, to handle the contestants but the motive of the occasional evening dinners were to make the contestants relax and meet the best minds living in the city – the top officials (with families), judges, politicians and film stars considering their long stay of twenty odd days in our country for the purpose of the pageant. Under no circumstances anyone can perceive the environment as unethical except with an intent of maligning us or motive of cheap publicity.
