By Chan Tov, Contributing Writer (cmcnamar@fandm.edu)
Realize that Alpha Male is back. I, for one, find it almost hypocritical that on a campus with such distinct feminist voices crying out for equality, Alpha Male is even allowed to happen. Now, it isn’t the philanthropic side of things that I’m against — no, don’t get me wrong, I love the idea that the money goes to charity — it’s the principle.
Imagine if any fraternity had a pageant for women. Imagine the campus wide reaction it would garner. I can just see the placards, articles, and boycotts that would be called for. Why, then, is it okay for a male pageant to take place? It seems to me there is a huge double standard on this campus.
After interviewing some of the campus’ ladies for my last article on the bathroom double standard, it came to the forefront that many women have this tainted and absolutely incorrect view of men and, as a result, think it’s ok to treat men the way they think men treat them. Am I saying that some men aren’t misogynistic pigs? Of course not, but I dare say the majority of the ones I know on this campus aren’t. If women fear and fight against objectification so much, why is it that they subject men to the same fate they themselves lash out against?
Now before you brand me an antifeminist pig, let me say I have nothing against women and have always enjoyed the company of strong intelligent women, I dislike both regular pageants and male pageants since I find the objectification of anyone distasteful. Having grown up around an extremely diverse set of women, on an island known for appreciating women with fuller figures, I remember being astounded with America’s obsession with thin women. Additionally, one need only look to the last Miss America pageant, when some people didn’t consider the stunningly beautiful and intelligent Nina Davuluri attractive simply because of her race. I say this to say beauty is something that is so subjective that it is ridiculous to try and judge it, whether the person is male or female.
I believe every girl deserves to feel beautiful in her own little ,natural way. How can a woman ever hope of having a healthy appreciation of her body when the only time she is ever praised for her looks is after hours of preparation and dozens of beauty products? Beauty pageants judge only on what a person can see at first glance, and people are so much more than that. And the very same thought relates to male centered pageants, including Alpha Male. How and why can we compare men on this campus, and what does it do for the participants’ self-esteem?
Women in today’s world demand and deserve respect. They deserve to not be objectified by men, and, ladies, I humbly and sincerely apologize on behalf of my gender if you have been objectified in the past. That said, I do not believe it’s okay to objectify men; just as every woman deserves to be Miss America, so, too, does every man deserves to be the Alpha Male.