8 May 2011 - Beauty pageants for young men have become increasingly popular in Venezuela, where winning international competitions has long been the ambition of many women in the country. As in traditional female versions of these contests, the participants are expected to present themselves, sing, dance and appear in a variety of outfits, including swim wear. "It's no good having someone with a beautiful face if they can't answer a question," says Hernesto Boscan, a former Mr Venezuela and organiser of the event. With a population of some 28 million people (almost the same as Malaysia!), Venezuelan contestants have an extraordinary record in international beauty contests, winning Miss Universe six times, a feat only exceeded by the United States. Such success is helped at least in part by the lengths some Venezuelan women are willing to go to in order to achieve physical perfection. Many will have plastic surgery in order to compete in beauty pageants, most commonly nose jobs and breast implants, as well as visiting an orthodontist to improve their teeth. The young men competing this week also expect to go under the knife in order to get ahead.
"If it's something I have to do in order to win, then I'll do it," says Freddy Pimentel, 26. Plastic surgery of any kind is common in Venezuela, and admitting that you have gone had a procedure is not taboo. Some estimates put the number of breast augmentation surgeries in Venezuela at between 30,000 and 40,000 a year.
1 comment:
Tot mijn schande kom ik nu pas toe aan je blog. Erg leuk en professioneel. Schrijf je alles zelf? Je lijkt wel een journalist, zo goed is het. Het zegt wel wat over mij dat ik juist dieper in dit onderwerp duik. Het wijzigt wel mijn beeld over venezuela:) . Big hug, ik denk veel aan je, al mail ik niet veel
Post a Comment