In beleaguered Venezuela,young women use beauty pageants to escape poverty.
Women from the Venezuela have captured 7 Miss Universe titles. As the nation plummets into economic ruin, even more young women are holding snappy to dreams of fitting beauty queens.
Osmel Sousa, and known as the “Czar of Beauty,” led the Miss Venezuela pageant for 4 decades before leaving as accusations spread that organizers arranged for contestants to work as escorts in exchange for jewels, gowns and cosmetic surgeries.
Some believe the continued popularity of beauty pageants in Venezuela indicates how deeply sexist the country remains. “Physical beauty is seen as a value, or ” says a women’s studies expert. “And it’s given more importance than any other attribute.”
But as Venezuela continues to plunge into economic ruin,many young women are still pinning their hopes for a future free of poverty on a single goal: fitting an international beauty queen. Read more.
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