Reader's Ink discussion

Nicole refers to herself and Shanti as “between people,” as they shift between promoting (exploiting?) an exotic, ethnic “otherness” to give the judges a warm fuzzy feeling of diversity, and the suspicion that they are mere tokens in a white girl’s game—a game they’re trying to win. How do Nicole and Shanti reconcile who they (really) are and what they want with what their cultural backgrounds demand of them, along with the (conflicting) expectations of the judges?

As I was defining between people, was anticipating what the judges might be wanting from the girls and what the girls were trying to promote. I agree it is a white girls game, but we see more and more of different cultures become part of this. I watched a TV program the other day, and mothers were putting their four year old girl's in pageants. The amount of money that it takes to do this is obscene to me. Sure don't want to be offending any of you if this has been an interest of yours. There were girls that were 12 -14. They don't even have a chance to be kids. That is one of my big rubs.