'Man-made' beauty to sue pageant organisers
A woman who was disqualified from a beauty pageant for undergoing extensive cosmetic surgery is planning to sue the event's organisers for discrimination.
Yang Yuan , 18, was one of more than 1,000 contestants in the mainland section of the Miss Intercontinental beauty competition. She made the top 30 who qualified for the finals, but was suddenly disbarred on the grounds that she was a 'man-made beauty'.
Although there were no rules against cosmetic surgery, the local organisers said they wanted to discourage the growing trend of young women surgically enhancing their appearance.
Local media quoted Zhao Chaofeng , one of the organisers, as saying: 'The organising committee concluded that if we allowed Ms Yang to compete and she won a prize, this could have a more negative than positive influence on other girls.
'Other girls might be encouraged to do what she did, even if they have to borrow money to do it.'
Mr Zhou said allowing Ms Yang to compete would be unfair to the other contestants who had not undergone any surgery.
In an effort to radically alter her appearance, Ms Yang spent 110,000 yuan earlier this year on a range of operations, including a nose job and a facelift.
Organisers of the beauty pageant found out when the clinic that carried out the surgery relied on her image in its advertising campaigns.
Ms Yang said in Beijing at the weekend that she would sue the local organisers of the pageant for discriminating against people who had cosmetic surgery.
She said the disqualification had caused her mental anguish and had damaged her self-esteem.
The local committee has asked the international organisers of the event to approve the disqualification. Ms Yang said she would initiate legal proceedings if and when that came through.
The Miss Intercontinental world finals will be held in Hohhot , Inner Mongolia , in July. Entrants are from more than 70 countries.
