I kid you not.
I’ve devoted a fair amount of time to the intersections of aesthetics and politics, but I was struck dumb by the Miss Landmine project.
Others will react with much more clarity. At the least, the issues regarding gender and commodification are, well, explosive. They even have a T-shirt bearing the logo:
Visiting the Miss Landmine project's site, we find the following:
We are currently preparing the live Miss Landmine Angola 2008 pageant in close collaboration with the Angolan government (CNIDAH) and supported by the European Union. The crowning of the world's first Miss Landmine will be taking place in Luanda, Angola on April 4th, 2008, the UN International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The not-for-profit celebration of those who no one ordinarily celebrates, a cause that generates awareness of landmines and their devastation, in a country that worships beauty pageants (there's even a Mr. Angola)...not sure there's commodification here, but undoubtedly a point of view that will make many uncomfortable. My opinion...it's a brilliant, exquisitely ironic idea. Kudos to whomever came up with this.
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