Simply Gok Wan Lingerie Blog

Gok Wan’s new show Miss Naked Beauty is set to air next week on Tuesday the 21st October on Channel 4. Gok seems to be causing a bit of a kafuffle with the controversial new six part series - and I’m not just talking about all the eager Gok Wan fans desperate to see him back on our screens.

With Channel 4 claiming Miss Naked Beauty is reintroducing feminism to a new audience ‘by stealth’ whilst Gok saying the show is about ‘reclaiming the 1950s beauty pageant’ there is bound to be a little confusion. I mean, just how feminist can a beauty pageant - any kind of beauty pageant - really be?

So let’s take look at the arguments for and against what Miss Naked Beauty is doing.

The Defence

• Gok is doing this to set women free from ‘beauty fascism’ and oppressive beauty regimes‘

‘When I was doing How To Look Good Naked, I was shocked by the lengths to which women went to attain a preconceived idea of beauty. They created armour for themselves by slapping on loads of make-up, they damaged themselves terribly with plastic surgery, fake tans, fake nails and hair extensions. Their efforts to achieve this impossible ideal was endless and it was madness.’

• Miss Naked Beauty is trying to put across that there is not just one way of being beautiful. Sue Murphy, head of features at Channel 4 said they wanted to:

 ’subvert the traditional beauty contest format with the message that there’s not one image of beauty perfection. I wanted to get across the message that if women strive to achieve that impossible image, they will be unhappy.’

And Gok Wan’s thoughts?

‘I’m flabbergasted by the increasingly restricted, stereotyped and narrow image of what beauty has become for women.’    ‘ I just want women to realise that they don’t have to conform to these stereotypes to feel sexy and gorgeous’

• It’s about brains too. Gok says Miss Naked beauty will be:

 ’judged not just on what she looks like, but also on her brains, her spirit, her attitude and her intelligence’

The Prosecution

• It’s still a beauty pageant and women will still be judged on their looks as well as other factors
• From a truly feminist standpoint, it shouldn’t really be important for women to have to feel sexy and gorgeous all the time full stop as htey shouldn’t need to - whether it’s feeling sexy and gorgeous in their natural state or otherwise
• It could be said that ‘natural beauty’ is just as difficult to achieve as ‘artifical beauty’ ie to have glowing skin and shiny hair takes a lot of moisturing, exfoliating etc Is it just swapping a ‘beauty’ regime for a ‘grooming’ regime?
• One of the judges in James Brown founder editor of lads mag ‘Loaded’. Hmm.

Anything else to consider?

What about co-host Myleene Klass - anything to add about your experiences?

‘The more I started working, the more my weight and the way I looked became an issue,’ she said. ‘I’d be told I had got a job, but only if I could lose a stone in two months. I wore make-up so thick every single day for four years that it was like a mask. I imagined that no one could possibly like me if I wasn’t wearing that mask, because I didn’t like myself without it,’ she said. ‘I was unable to leave the house without it.’

Let’s hear from one of the Miss Naked Beauty contestants, 21 year old student Shona Collins:

‘According to the fashion industry, I’m very far from what a beautiful woman should look like. I’m 5ft 4in, a size 12 to 14 - depending on the day and the shop - and have prominent teeth because of a brace I wore as a child which pushed them forward.

‘This argument that real beauty lies within is not a new argument but it is a very pertinent one. At university, I’m surrounded by beautiful, intelligent women who are miserable about the way they look. There is still a huge emphasis on how women look and the pressure on us is ridiculous.’

Any final thought from you Mr Gok Wan? (Well, this is a blog all about him and his lingerie range!)

‘I’d like to prove to every single woman watching the programme that they have the capability to enjoy being themselves. By stripping away all the façade, and getting rid of the make-up and all the bows and bangles, what’s left is women standing united and together and confident.’

Thanks Gok!

And the verdict?

Well I haven’t watched Miss Naked Beauty yet… so I’ll tell you this time next Wednesday

What do you think?

Sources here and here