Good and Bad Sexploitation?

 A step up for Colombian women? The new Miss Universe, Colombian Paulina Vega, in all her glory.

The El Espectador and El Tiempo newspapers sold out early yesterday, thanks to the crowning of Paulina Vega as Miss Universe.

Should Colombians be proud that this young woman from Barranquilla was crowned the prettiest

Tabloids celebrate Colombia's
Miss Universe victory.

woman on Earth? Should Colombians cheer that their women are honored for their looks and curves, rather than their brains and abilities?

In response to a question about what women could learn from men, Vega opined that many men do believe in gender equity, and that women could learn that from men. Admittedly, beauty queens are not known for their intellectual depth, but that response strikes me as remarkably off base. Presumably, women should by nature believe more strongly in gender equity and not need to learn that from men. And, by perpetuating shallow, stereotypical images of women, is Vega doing anything to reduce such gender inequity?
Evidently, Colombia's got a ways to go to reduce inequity. The 2014 Social Institutions and Gender Index ranked Colombia 38th out of 108 nations surveyed, but behind most of the other Latin American nations. In 2013, the United Nations Development Program’s Gender Inequality Index ranked Colombia 91st out of 186 nations. And gender violence - most notoriously acid attacks - remains a huge problem here.

And what about the contrast between the celebration of Vega's victory and the (very justified) outrage over the recent Miss Tanguita, or Little Miss Thong, beauty contest held in the town of Barbosa, featuring 6 to 10-year-old girls.

A step forward for girls? A Little Miss Tanga contestant parades before a drunken crowd.

While a world of difference exists between children and adults exhibiting their bodies, the two contests promote the same values of beauty and sexuality. If Little Miss Thong is damaging because of the way it exploits young girls and celebrates the wrong values, can Miss Universe be so different?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Women's Day in Colombia: Not So Rosy

Students walk past flowers for sale on Jimenez Ave. near Los Andes University. 

Women's Day brought a flowering of flowers. On nearly every corner, vendors hawked roses, and the flower market in Palo Quemao was much larger and longer-lasting than usual.

Men carry buckets of
flowers in La Candelaria. 

But, despite the great number of colombianas carrying flowers today, not everything is coming up roses for Colombian girls and women. They earn less than men, do more unpaid work and suffer disproportionately from Colombia's armed conflict.

Colombian women also make up only about 10 % of the legislature and have only limited rights to abortion. A macho culture and Catholic rules against birth control use also contribute to high teen pregnancy rates, which make it more difficult for young women to finish school and get good jobs.

Even so, in 2006 Colombia was ranked one place above the U.S. in gender equality.

Flowers for sale on Plaza San Victorino. 

Young women, perhaps students at the elite Los Andes University, walk past a street vendor on Jimenez Ave.  

There's also a huge gap, as there is throughout Colombian society, between the small, educated class  of wealthy women and the rest of society, who end up with low-skilled work.  

A young woman carries a heart-shaped gift across Plaza San Victorino. 

A flower cart in Palo Quemao. 

Green litter left behind by Palo Quemao's flower market. 

Selling flowers on a streetcorner. 

Flower-sellers rest under a gas station sign near Palo Quemao. 

Related: The Millenium Goals and gender equality in Colombia.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours