She is five feet nine inches tall and weighs 129 pounds. Her name is Domonique Ramirez (pictured left) and she was Miss San Antonio (TX) until a local judge stripped her of her crown a few weeks back. Yesterday her case proceeded to a jury trial in her attempt to reclaim her title.
The story has been around for a while, drawing mostly fluff and filler attention from the main stream media. Now it moves to the next step, at least in the legal process.
Let’s begin here. Domonique Ramirez was 16 years old when she was crowned Miss San Antonio. She’s 17 now. She claims that her height and weight are the same now as when she won the title in April, 2010. But, according to her, pageant officials told her to “get off the tacos” and lose thirteen pounds if she wanted to keep her crown. Pageant organizers don’t deny the comments, but have responded by saying they simply wanted to encourage better eating habits, according to the AP report.
Those in charge of the pageant have countersued. Their claims include violation of a contract clause where Ms. Ramirez agreed to allow a baseline to be established for her weight and measurements. They also contend that she was late to certain events and that her tardiness is the real reason for her being dethroned.
Interesting legal issues will capture the attention of judge and jury in trial. Can a 16 year old minor be contractually obligated? Was there sufficient cause to strip her of her title? Did the actions of the pageant organizers constitute unlawful harassment? To my thinking, however, the real issues are societal and far more serious.
What is really ripe for discussion should be issues like requiring baseline weight and measurement criteria in order to represent one’s community, whether similar requirements would apply to men, and the impact on 16-17 year old children of being subjected to the kind of requirements and verbal flogging that Domonique Ramirez claims she endured. Then there’s that other thing that keeps bothering me. It’s the part the media seems to ignore as they focus on the weight issue. Get off the tacos, Latina?
I know what I think of the arcane institution of beauty pageants and what it does to our youth and our image of ourselves as a people, our obsession with weight and body measurements as criteria for acceptance, the social vilification of those who don’t measure up, and unkind references to cultural stereotypes. What’s your take?
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.