THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS obvious that some readers have totally misconstrued my letter sent about the Miss Jamaica competition. My main area of disagreement was the fact that the 'total package' is lacking in the Miss World competition. (i.e. Tanoya was NOT the prettiest looking contestant, but she was the brightest and best shaped; as opposed to the best looking contestant lacking in Tanoya's qualities)
I never defined what the racial criteria for beauty should be. As a matter of fact, I was appalled at the mere thought of the insinuations that I revelled in the thought of having the Miss Jamaica be of Caucasian or Indian descent. I even commented to a colleague that it's so hard for a short-haired black person to advance in competitions like Miss Jamaica. But it has been done before. Cathy Levy and Aeisha Richards were proof of this.
RACE, CLASS OR CULTURE
Never once did I ever mention race, class or culture. Some have made quite an extremely erroneous assumption that I was in anyway prejudiced. I am very offended. To all the readers who thought I was opposing this girl because she was black, please discard the thought. It's also contradictory because two replies I received made mention that I was judgmental because she was dark-skinned. (It was obvious these people need their TV colour adjusted. She's partly Chinese and fair-skinned!)
This was NOT a question of race. Coincidentally, today I actually found a real fan of Miss Jamaica 2004! It would have been impartial of me not to mention this whilst my nationwide interview about the competition continues. She was highly spoken of in terms of her beauty, body and intelligence. With this insight, I was stricken with a ray of hope as to how she might deliver herself at the Miss World competition.
This lone voice in the wilderness has ignited some optimism. Maybe...just maybe judges in China might see this too... Final thought, outward beauty goes a LONNNGGGGG way in the Miss World competition. It's in the eyes of the beholder and THAT's the reality!
I am, etc.,
LATOYA MORRIS
xenavex@yahoo.com
