Beauty pageant contestants must meet requirements regarding their weight and body measurements. The guidelines are strict, but the contestants agree to regulations.
Domonique Ramirez, crowned Miss San Antonio in 2010, is suing over being wrongfully fired.
Miss San Antonio recently filed the lawsuit against the Miss Bexar County Organization, Inc. that crowned her. Ramirez claims she was unfairly fired for putting on a little weight.
Pageant officials claim the 17-year-old was insubordinate, showed up late for mandatory events and wasn’t “keeping up her appearance in every capacity.”
In regards to her weight, Ramirez claims she was told she needed to lose 13 pounds, but was fired despite dieting and exercising. Ramirez, a college student, has been unofficially replaced by runner up Ashley Dixon, 21.
A hearing Wednesday will decide if she can keep her crown. The direct question is whether pageant organizations can tell winners they must lose weight.
“If I get my crown, great,” Ramirez said, according to cbsnews.com. “If I don’t, the only thing I’m asking is to clear my name. I’m 17. I shouldn’t have to be slandered like this and my future shouldn’t have to be ruined over this.”
Who is at wrong, Ramirez for not meeting requirements or pageant officials for setting standards that encourage an unhealthy body image? If girls willingly compete, can they be told they need to lose weight?
Comment below.
A Rockhurst Student • Feb 15, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Found a minor typo?
If you would like to get technical, found a minor typo is not a complete sentence. Reread your work before you post it.
S • Feb 10, 2011 at 9:18 pm
The pageant officials are at fault–girls (anyone for that matter) should not be told how to look. Not only is it unhealthy for the girls who do this their entire life, but it is unhealthy to girls and women across the world. Thanks to the media, teenage girls think they should look like “THAT,” when in reality we are all different in our own ways–blond hair vs brown hair. Blue eyes vs green eyes. We are all different, so why should we all be the same size too?
Also, reread your work before you post it. Found a minor typo.