File photo
Dr. Saphire Longmore, reigning Miss Jamaica Universe.
Andrew Clunis, Freelance Writer
BEAUTY IS in the eye of the beholder. But often that's the root of the problem, especially when there's a Jamaican audience involved. It's never easy to satisfy everyone's taste and Jamaicans can make a beauty contest really sour when a presumed winner is not confirmed.
The year is 1986. One which former 'Miss Jamaica World', Lisa Mahfood, will remember all her life. It was the year her moment of crowning glory was cut short by flying missiles. There have been awful experiences for other winners of the 'Miss Jamaica World' crown, such as Andrea Haynes in 1988 and Joan McDonald in 1978.
When Joan McDonald won the contest, there was disgruntlement. It was a night which franchise holder of the 'Miss Jamaica World' contest, Mickey Haughton-James described as "embarrassing". Some people were upset because she possessed African characteristics.
Questions are raised about the mechanisms which are in place to determine winners at these contests.
Despite the common problems which the two main franchise holders of beauty contests in Jamaica experience, there seems to be no willingness to take a collective approach in finding a solution.
Asked about the possibility of establishing a joint committee to stage the events, Mr. Haughton-James, told Showbiz: "It will be hard to get a committee together. If you have objective people looking into the pageant, it will keep people on their toes and that's perhaps the best way to go."
Principle
According to Kingsley Cooper, who has the rights to the annual 'Miss Jamaica Universe' pageant: "I have no problem in principle with anything that is going to add credibility. 'Miss Jamaica World' and 'Miss Jamaica Universe' are institutions in Jamaica. I don't know that setting up any other panel will necessarily add more credibility than the present panels. There is nothing more controversial than beauty, especially when beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Next week, the machinery gets going for the 'Miss Jamaica World' contest once again and in September current queen Desiree DePass will step down from the throne. This comes on the heels of the 'Miss Jamaica Universe 2000' title won by Dr. Saphire Longmore, yet another queen whose crowning has been shrouded in controversy.
Mr. Cooper said he was surprised that months after the contest, people were still debating about the winner. He felt a smear campaign had been staged by "certain individuals", who had connections with one of the contestants.
There has been talk about impropriety and tampering with the judges' scoresheet, which Mr. Cooper vehemently denies.
"When the competition is over all the judges have to sign off on the documents and there are rules to be followed. Scoring is done by the judges and they sign off on the scoresheet. Once they do that, it cannot be changed and has never been. If we are required by a court or some other authority, we can produce them," he continued.
Mr. Cooper was quick to point out that his contest had never been surrounded by controversy.
Controversies
Mr. Haughton-James told Showbiz he was "tired of the controversies. But there is no immediate end in sight. Any decision which becomes a matter of opinion for judges will be controversial. I have always said that if you change a panel 10 times, you might get 10 different winners. I tell my girls, don't enter for the winning, but to enjoy the contest. There is no clear cut thing that can define that a person is number one. Although there are standards and criteria, the final decision is with the judges," he explained.
Mr. Haughton-James emphasised that he had faith in the team of judges he chose each year and his system left no room for manipulation as no official of his organisation handled the scoresheets after the judges.
"The chief judge takes them directly to the MC," he said.
In addition to the 'Miss Jamaica World' and the 'Miss Jamaica Universe' contests, there are several other beauty and talent contests staged in Jamaica.
According to Mr. Haughton-James discrepancies and non-transparency in other contests had tainted the image of his competition.
"I don't know exactly how their system operates, but the whole image of beauty contests in Jamaica seems to be getting cloudy," he declared.
A sore issue among Jamaicans has been the preponderance of winners with Caucasian-type features over the years. And Mr. Haughton-James said he would love to see a "black girl" win the contest as this would boost his stocks tremendously. In fact, he is encouraging more black girls to enter.
"It depends on what you call black. How would one view Lisa Hanna? Black beauty is a different type of beauty from European beauty. The problem is, we cannot use European standards to judge black girls. If you are rating one type of girl against another, your analysis should be based on how close she comes to perfect beauty in her race. This is communicated to the judges, but not everybody sticks to the guidelines," he said.
