Rose of Tralee

krudler · 17-08-2010 01:07PM #1

Was listening to a few girls talking about this at work earlier, from a ladies perspective, throwaway bit of fun? or degrading beauty pageant? I'd like to think most girls should have higher aspirations than being recognised for wearing silly hats ans sashes and being able to tapdance for judges while talking about hoping for world peace and all those cliches. I dont get how anyone takes it any way seriously, but it does have serious undertones, are women happy to be literally judged on their physical merits?

Eve_Dublin · 17-08-2010 01:19PM

Fantastic topic Krudler!! For me The Rose of Tralee is a comedy spectacle and nothing more...the writers of Father Ted got it absolutely right with their "Lovely Girls Contest" skit. These "lovely girls" are perfectly entitled to do whatever it is they want to do and in fairness, there's an innocence about the Rose of Tralee that doesn't exist in the Miss World contests...there's no swim wear segment for starters and the women tend to have a brain. Yes, the girls are all young and beautiful, that's kind of a given but I think they're usually judged more on their personalities than anything else and in fairness to them, they usually seem very nice, even if they've come from families living abroad that have adorned one too many pairs rose-tinted glasses thinking of the "Old Country"

I went down to the festival about 10 years ago in Tralee...the party down there is totally seperate from the actual event and it was great craic. The girls were seen as a bit of a joke actually. I think you can take this very, very seriously or you can have a laugh at how out of place the whole event is in 2010 and that's usually what I do.It's too twee to take seriously. I think there's plenty of other contests etc. that really do exploit women and they're the ones worth getting upset over, not this.

I'd be interested to hear what everyone else thinks though.

krudler · 17-08-2010 01:22PM

Well no matter what way this topic goes, I think we can all agree that its in no way as bad as those beauty pageants for kids, any parent who puts their little girl in one of those should have their "right to parent" membership card revoked.

Das Kitty · 17-08-2010 01:27PM

The Rose of Tralee is more of a personality contest than a beauty pageant really. A friend of mine was on it one year, thought it was brilliant fun.

IMO it's completely harmless. I think it will die out soon enough though as, let's face it, it's not that entertaining really. It'll go the way of Calor Homemaker / Housewife of the year!

jellie · 17-08-2010 01:56PM

I dont really see the point of it. I know two girls who were county roses this year that got to regional finals (1 may be in the rose of tralee, im not sure), neither of them exceptionally good looking but quite pretty, and both quite intelligent. But i dont see why it would interest them (or anyone) to be honest

music.babe75 · 17-08-2010 02:05PM

Used to love watching it when I was a kid, looking at all the dresses and trying to predict who would win:D

Dont have much interest (or time) to watch the whole thing now - probably just watch the last few minutes to see the summary of all the girls and see who wins......

MagicMarker · 17-08-2010 02:09PM

I'd rather watch the eurovision, and that's saying A LOT!!

Malari · 17-08-2010 02:38PM

music.babe75 wrote: »

Used to love watching it when I was a kid, looking at all the dresses and trying to predict who would win:D

Me too, I loved it and it still reminds me of being on family holidays in Ireland (2010-speak translation: "stay-cations) when I was a child!

But now....no thanks. I get that it's not exactly a beauty pageant but I can't really understand why any intelligent woman would do it.

It's incredibly degrading.

twoweekstogo · 17-08-2010 02:42PM

music.babe75 wrote: »

Used to love watching it when I was a kid, looking at all the dresses and trying to predict who would win:D

Dont have much interest (or time) to watch the whole thing now - probably just watch the last few minutes to see the summary of all the girls and see who wins......

I totally agree with music babe, i used to love watching it when i was younger but now i just couldnt be bothered, i watch the last 15 mins or so of it just to see who wins. I think it seems more special when your between 5-10yrs old :rolleyes:

baby and crumble · 17-08-2010 03:19PM

I think like a lot of posters have said, it's not as bad as the miss worlds or whatever, that are a bit more... seedy, I suppose. There's no edge like that with Rose of Tralee... Plus I think for a lot of the women it's a chance to travel around Ireland and see bits of it they might not if they didn't enter...

WindSock · 17-08-2010 03:29PM

It seems to be dying out, thankfully. Hardly even passes for entertainment. I don't know how you 'rate' a person in this way. Is it their looks, ladylikeness, achievements, abilities, their dresses, or a combination of all of them? Do they get their teeth checked also and does the prizewinner get to go home riding up at the front of the car while the rest have to squish into the cattlecar behind. It all seems fairly pointless to be honest. Maybe back in the day it was a large event where the oldies could go and look at de luvley girrrls, being let out of the house after dark to be paraded around on stage like a coy wee harlot but sure women do that every day of the week now, and in less a coyly fashion.

Agent Smith · 17-08-2010 04:09PM

Sure, dont they all have lovely bottoms....

krudler · 17-08-2010 04:09PM

Was waiting for that one

panda100 · 17-08-2010 04:17PM

Agent Smith wrote: »

Sure, dont they all have lovely bottoms....

Cracks me up everytime I see that clip

Rose of Tralee is no way as bad as the Miss World's. I say its a good laugh being a Rose and the focus is much more on being a well balanced,all round person than having big bewbs.

Still theres something slightly wrong about a contest for women that only allowed unmarried mothers to participate 2 years ago. Also I dislike the age-limit factor. Do we really need another programme on tv thats all about women under 30 sexual desirability, Yawn!

caseyann · 17-08-2010 04:33PM

I wouldnt watch it(I used to),But its very important to the tourism and other people in other countries with Irish links.They enjoy it and some girl becomes an ambassador for a year and takes away an experience and so do the others who come over along with the girls from Ireland.And the people of the area.

Leave it alone and it wont die out.

vicecreamsundae · 17-08-2010 05:02PM

i loved it as a kid, mostly because of the dresses. I watched it a year or two agao for the first time in yeaaaarrs, and was pleasantly surprised by how lighthearted it was -there really didn't seem to be any serious competition and there was a lot of joking around -some of the 'talents' were hilarious! -and i would agree that it's not a beauty contest, and more a personality contest. but still, a FEMALE personality contest.
no matter how you break it down, it's still a bunch of young women [roses, yuck] competing in front of judges to become the winner, and it's something that just has no male alternative... and why do they get fixed up with male escorts?!?!
i can understand why women from other countries would want to do it for the travel opportunity, but really do not see why irish women would want to do it. it is sexist, but i think it is just supposed to be a bit of fun really.

stupidusername · 17-08-2010 06:08PM

I think the whole idea of these things is a bit silly. do we really need an event like this to formally have people judging us? I would never enter something like this, not just because I wouldn't like the outcome, but because you're putting yourself out there for strangers to decide if you're better than the rest?

It's when I see things like this happening it makes me wonder how are we considered the most intelligent species on the planet

And I know people get judged all day everyday by both the same and opposite sex in a number of ways, but at least that has some standing in society/reproduction rather than just being for the sake of considering yourself 'better' than the other contestants.

Boo to that I say!

On a slightly lighter (and more important note) this has been my 1000th post! yipee!

Shazanne · 17-08-2010 06:15PM

That Daithi O Se guy will kill it off for good this year so no more worries about Roses with lovely bottoms!
That guy gives me the creeps - it's that really sharp adams apple he has in his throat that looks like it will slice out through his skin - yuck!

Scarinae · 17-08-2010 07:05PM

Das Kitty wrote: »

It'll go the way of Calor Homemaker / Housewife of the year!

I had never heard of this, so I had to look it up. I found this article on the worst Irish TV shows ever, which included a description of that programme:

Gay Byrne hosted this annual 'Lovely Girls' triathlon for the mature Irishwoman. The finalists' first task was to rustle up a meal. That done, they were given a dab of make-up and wheeled back out to tell how they trapped their man. Having established their desirability in the kitchen and the bedroom, they closed with a party piece that might be a song, or a jig, or a poem in Irish.

In the '90s, the contest was dropped amid complaints that too many women working outside the home were taking part. The morning after what turned out to be the final show, a caller phoned RTE to protest that most of the finalists "would never get down on their knees to scrub the floor".

I'd love to see a bit of a rerun of that, I'd say it's hysterical!

As for the Rose of Tralee, I've never actually seen it - shocking, I know! As other posters have said though, it doesn't seem to have the seediness of the American pageants, it really is more about finding a lovely girl. I'm sure it fits in nicely with the 'Irish' American view of what the Emerald Isle is like

keane2097 · 17-08-2010 07:31PM

krudler wrote: »

are women happy to be literally judged on their physical merits?

Way to completely invent a fake judging criterion there dude :rolleyes:

krudler · 17-08-2010 07:36PM

keane2097 wrote: »

Way to completely invent a fake judging criterion there dude :rolleyes:

Uh oh, I've annoyed the fervent Rose fans :pac:

keane2097 · 17-08-2010 07:38PM

krudler wrote: »

Uh oh, I've annoyed the fervent Rose fans :pac:

Well are you happy with starting a thread bashing one of Ireland's best known festivals based on a demonstrably false premise?

krudler · 17-08-2010 07:42PM

keane2097 wrote: »

Well are you happy with starting a thread bashing one of Ireland's best known festivals based on a demonstrably false premise?

Just asking for the girls on here opinions on it

MistyCheese · 17-08-2010 07:49PM

I think "degrading" is far too strong a term as the women decide to enter, there's no "son at home, crying all alone on the bedroom floor cos he's hungry" argument. I do think it's very patronizing though. People being judged, ordered and then rewarding based on mostly superficial terms.

Sort of like:
Mary's third for being very good at the violin, Joan is the runner-up as she did the dancing very well and of course Assumpta wins this year because she has the best bottom.

They are just as anachronistic as men's wrestling/fighting/strongman contests. Who's the prettiest girl? Who's the toughest man? I don't see as many men offended by these competitions. Generally if you said "That's the guy who won World's Strongest Man" a man is likely to be a bit impressed, or at least say "Good for him." Whereas if you were to point out "That's Miss Ireland!" a woman is likely to sniff "She's not that pretty." (Of course there are exceptions, I'm just talking generally.)

As for

krudler wrote: »

Are women happy to be literally judged on their physical merits?

I personally think the most honest answer is; if they think they will come off favourably, yes. If not, no.

Madame Razz · 17-08-2010 07:57PM

jellie wrote: »

I dont really see the point of it. I know two girls who were county roses this year that got to regional finals (1 may be in the rose of tralee, im not sure), neither of them exceptionally good looking but quite pretty, and both quite intelligent. But i dont see why it would interest them (or anyone) to be honest

Because they have one of the best weeks of their lives as a rose and some of them have done very well out of being a rose; it raises their profile, even if they don't actually win the Rose of Tralee and some people are into that. and they really do have such a laugh.:)

caseyann wrote: »

I wouldnt watch it(I used to),But its very important to the tourism and other people in other countries with Irish links..

This it is. That's why it started; that's why it remains. It actually means a lot to the region even now. Granted it may not be everybodies cup of tea but it does create employment, maintain jobs and allow people to have a good time (and some women get to wear pretty dresses:p) and especially in the current climate I don't see any harm in doing any of that:)

stupidusername · 17-08-2010 08:02PM

MistyCheese wrote: »

I personally think the most honest answer is; if they think they will come off favourably, yes. If not, no.

So do you mean to say the ugly of us out there are the only ones that will think this is a bad way to judge people? :eek:

MistyCheese · 17-08-2010 08:05PM

stupidusername wrote: »

So do you mean to say the ugly of us out there are the only ones that will think this is a bad way to judge people? :eek:

It's natural to want to be judged on your strengths.

stupidusername · 17-08-2010 08:35PM

MistyCheese wrote: »

It's natural to want to be judged on your strengths.

Well ya, but does that mean that people who don't enter these are only against them because they're bitter and ugly?

panda100 · 17-08-2010 08:57PM

Are there restrictions to entering the Worlds strongest man? Some of those men look a lot older than 28? And I think some of them maybe unmarried fathers too :eek: Do they not know their living in sin!

When is Rose of Tralee on anyways/ I usually watch it with my mum as its her favourite show

spudd · 17-08-2010 09:15PM

think you'd be hard-pushed to find a single contestant who has ever mentioned world peace in the rose of the tralee. it's not a beauty contest, never has been. and as for it dying out, people have been saying that for years, but it's in it's 51st year and is still going strong - Tralee is always buzzing during it

wouldn't be my cup of tea, but know several former roses and every single one of them had an absolute ball for the week/ ten days of the festival, and the months before and after it.

caseyann · 17-08-2010 10:06PM

FUtoo wrote: »

Because they have one of the best weeks of their lives as a rose and some of them have done very well out of being a rose; it raises their profile, even if they don't actually win the Rose of Tralee and some people are into that. and they really do have such a laugh.:)

This it is. That's why it started; that's why it remains. It actually means a lot to the region even now. Granted it may not be everybodies cup of tea but it does create employment, maintain jobs and allow people to have a good time (and some women get to wear pretty dresses:p) and especially in the current climate I don't see any harm in doing any of that:)

I know if i had of been anyway confident growing up i would have loved to do it.I would love to go see it ,i might just.

Rose of Tralee

Comments