OPINION Page 6 01he itt-ht-an a atI Vol. XCIV, No. 29-S 94 Years of Editorial Freedom Managed and Edited by Students at The University of Michigan Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Editorial Board A defeat for Simpson, a victory for immigration FOR A WHILE, it seemed that forces backing the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration "reform" bill were going to prevail. Versions of the bill, which is an offensive wholesale rewrite of the nation's immigration laws, had passed both the House and Senate. The majority in the Senate seemed unshakeable, and the bill's supporters included the House's speaker, Tip O'Neill (D- Mass.). The president had promised to sign the final product. And then, miraculously, the sun broke through the clouds. A combination of the Congress' byzantine legislative procedures, Walter Mondale's timely intervention, and second thoughts at the White House appears to have stopped the legislation for this term. The growing public outcry over the bill's draconian approach to immigration control seems to have terrified enough politicans to block any further action on the bill. They don't want to be reminded about it during the election. Their apprehension is understandable, since Simpson-Mazzoli contains a number of provisions which raise the eyebrows of even the most hardened congressional statists. The bill has drawn harsh yet valid criticism from, among others: " civil libertarians, who argue the bill will quickly create a national identification card and will effectively require all Americans to have the permission of the government before they can work, " Hispanics, who insist that the criminal penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens will - lead to massive employment discrimination against Hispanics generally, " business groups, who resent being forced to act as immigration inspectors in the workplace, and " immigration advocates, who denounce the bill's attempt to severely limit legal immigration as economic nonsense and as inconsistent with American traditions. A combination of these groups, led by the increasingly powerful House Hispanic caucus, seem to have achieved an eleventh hour victory over the bill. But the threat has not disappeared: Simpson-Mazzoli supporters have promised to reintroduce the legislation next term. Friday, July 27, 1984 The Michigan Daily Companions in exploitation: Penthouse and the pageant By Philip K. Lawes Not surprisingly, the higher minds of the Miss America Pageant have decided that it simply will not do to have their reigning beauty-queen exposing her privates to the world on the pages of a magazine of dubious journalistic distinction. To so allow would damage the pristine image of the contest, to allow reality to besmirch the elaborate charade which the pageant has been foisting on America for decades. In the final analysis, the most reprehensible thing that Vanessa williams has done is to go quietly. The public would have 'been better served if she has chosen to fight, dragging the issue through the courts, and put- ting the contest up for examination in the international media. IN THE common perception, the title of Miss America is a supreme honor for a woman, denoting her as the apotheosis of American womanhood in all dimensions. She is deemed wor- thy of emulation by little girls and the reverent admiration of males. It is a tribute to the practice of public relations that an award created in the 1920s as a publicity stunt to extend Atlantic City's commercial summer season, and whose primary purpose is now the year-long promotion of its sponsor's products, has con- tinued to be held in such high regard. In fairness, is must be added that a Miss America does more than making more than 100 ap- pearances for corporate spon- sors. She also performs numerous acts of civic good. For instance, she goes about the country spouting a line of of- ficially sanctioned platitudes and banalities, expounding on topics such as the superiority of peace over war, or the joy of living in America. A MISS AMERICA also typically puts in an appearance wherever Americans happen to be fighting and dying during her reign. Miss williams, for exam- ple, dutifully trooped to Lebanon to where U.S. Marines were ducking to avoid sniper fire. Finally, apropos of being a beauty queen, Miss you-know- which-nation appears on magazine covers and shares beauty tips. For example, Vanessa williams is on record stating in Essence magazine, "I try to stay away from red meat." There is a considerable body of evidence that the pageant, rather than being a means of "celebrating the whole woman," is simply a beauty contest, a human cattle auction, which' celebrates those aspects of a woman which are best displayed in a bathing suit. Surely a swim suit parade-the highlight of the pageant-is an inadequate means of determining a woman's moral or spiritual worth. THE PAGEANT rewards con- formity to certain stringent and capricious standards of European beauty to the exclusion of the inner qualities which make a woman a human being. A fat woman with the soul of a poet, and a deep and abiding faith in the goodness of humanity, who excels in law school at night while digging coal with her bare hands all day to support her invalid mother and two younger siblings, and who has numerous citations for rescuing infants and small children from burning buildings, has a snowball's chance in hell against the adorable blonde with perky breasts and a cute tush, who, after years of strenuous ef- fort has mastered the discipline of music sufficiently to be able to deliver a barely recognizable rendition of "Feelings" on the recorder. The only difference between the Miss America pageant and Penthouse magazine is in degree of gynecological candor. One displays its contestants in relatively conservative one-piece bathing suits while the other demonstrates a visual obsession with the vagina which indicates a tragically arrested emotional development, and/or a desire to be of assistance to even the most unimaginative of onanists. Ultimately, however organizations thrive on the objec- tification of women, and the ex- ploitation of women for commer- cial gain. The Miss America charade is even more destructive than the skin magazine, in that its hypocrisy is far more subtle and thus is far more effective in corrupting the cause of sexual equality in this country. Bob Guccione's rationalizations for Penthouse's existence are laughably transparent. It is clear that the magazine caters to prurient rather than spiritual or intellectual interests. It is clear that the women featured there are in it for the money and the-pardon the expression-ex- posure. The beauty pageant legitimizes a woman's use of her body for material gain by simply not being as explicit in its exploitation of women's sexuality. If a Miss America title-holder does indeed serve as a role model, she is in ef- fect telling girls that it is ad= mirable to use physical attributes to succeed in life. Further, it promotes only those oc- cupations-such as entertain- ment and modeling-which reward physical beauty. In its glorification of glamorous, insubstantial oc- cupations for women the pageant-and the society which encourages it-creates intense pressures on young women to severely compromise themselves in the pursuit of goals which very few of them can achieve. Exam- ples of such women are not hard to find: One of them was just for- ced to give up her crown. There has been a general out- pouring of support for Vanessa williams, a willingness to forgive her on the grounds that she was exploited by predators. While Bob Guccione and Tom Chiapel are doubtless guilty as charged, the blame does not rest solely with them. They are only oppor- tunists taking advantage of a society which encourages its daughters to utilize their bodies rather than their intellect for self-advancement. That attitude will take a great deal of effort to change, but a general discrediting of the Miss America pageant would be a good place to start. Lawes is a University graduate. 0 6 0 0 Unsigned editorials appearing on the left side of this page represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board.