China has ordered education authorities and schools across the country to ban beauty contests in schools, state media reported on Tuesday.
“The ministry of education explicitly opposes holding beauty contests in primary and high schools,” a ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
“Such contests were sometimes sponsored by a small number of students who had misunderstandings in aesthetic judgement,” said the spokesperson. “We should positively guide students to improve their taste.”
The report gave no information on the extent of these contests in schools.
The ministry has since ordered education authorities and schools to launch “healthy and invigorating campus activities” to enrich students’ lives, Xinhua said.
Some Chinese people associate beauty contests with Western-style freedom and progress. Even before China officially lifted a 54-year ban on beauty contests last year, they were taking place in disguised forms.
Increasingly bizarre competitions have since mushroomed, ranging from a beauty contest for old people to Miss Ugly and Miss Plastic Surgery. — AFP