VENEZUELA WINS AGAIN....

... and the "Bitch Fest" starts.

The most amusing thing about the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant is that the winner, although Miss Venezuela, does not even look Latina. She could just as easily have worn a Germany or France or Poland sash and no-one would have batted an eyelid, and everyone would be gushing and fawning over the beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful Miss Universe from Europe.

The bottom line is that the Miss Venezuela Organisation has perfected the "recipe" when selecting a representative for the pageant. They don't always get it right, but I've learnt that you can hardly ever go wrong if you back a Miss Venezuela for a win or a place at Miss Universe.

From a marketing/economic perspective I think that the rationale of fans on certain Forums for wanting to diversify the "look" for a winner is a tad misguided. Beauty pageants have become very passe in Europe and a string of winners from that continent is going to do nothing to boost the coffers of the Miss Universe Organisation or improve their standing on the continent.

Another factor that pageant fans and enthusiasts seem to overlook when criticising the Latina countries for "dominating" the pageant is that they crown their winners long before they are scheduled to compete at Miss Universe. With a few exceptions, the Europeans crown their national winners in the few months leading up to the Miss Universe pageant and expect these girls to "perform" with little or no training.

Whilst I am not opposed to cosmetic surgery in moderation to correct a few flaws, it is interesting to note that the Miss Venezuela Organisation, for example, is going the au natural route. If the new Miss Universe has, in fact, been cosmetically altered, her surgeons have done a fine job since I cannot, in all honesty, see anything "fake" about the new Miss Universe's physical assets.

From a South African perspective it is very disheartening for me to have to constantly back a foreigner for a win. I have always been of the opinion that South Africa has beautiful women that are up to the task of winning a major international title. The trick is to attract them and mould them to conform to the Miss Universe Organisation's ideal of feminine beauty.

The way I see it is simple: Equal quantities of facial beauty, fit body and sparkling personality. In that order. Until we stop trying to "interview" our way to a title and start trying to "beauty" our way, we will always just be an also-ran in the end.