Traditionally in our “He Said/She Said” section we feature two conflicting opinions about one topic. Well, that’s not the case this week. I couldn’t possibly disagree with Tricia when she says that these beauty pageants are absolutely ridiculous.

I cannot comprehend how someone can justify the parading of women in bikinis by saying that they are learning valuable lessons of charm and manners. However, I think an important thing to remember is that the women involved should not go without taking some of the blame for these events even taking place. Many times people say things like, “Oh, look at those poor girls,” or “They’re being treated like pieces of meat.” But didn’t these women have a choice whether or not to participate? If all women agreed that these beauty pageants were demeaning and unnecessary, then there wouldn’t be any women to do pageants and they would become a thing of the past. Unfortunately, this is reality and that will never happen, so until then, the best thing we can do is stop endorsing these beauty pageants. Just flip past them, even if Tony Danza is hosting, and then maybe these old, dirty men who run these events will take the hint and stop harassing us with their perverted fantasies.