ON Tuesday afternoon, during the live CBS broadcast of the 1998 Miss Universe Pageant, reigning queen and Hawaii's own Brook Lee was backstage at the Stan Sheriff Center -- calmly cutting her hair. She didn't just snip at the ends; she grabbed a scissors and hacked off her long tresses at chin length. The significance of
Brook cutting her hairShocked onlookers summoned her stylist, who finished the job in time for Brook to return to the stage and crown her successor, Miss Trinidad and Tobago.
In retrospect, some people saw the hair-cutting incident as symbolic of Brook's return to civilian life. But at least one woman on Oahu read something much deeper into the seemingly impromptu act, according to her eye-opening e-mail explanation:
"When a young woman, in a fit of sobbing, picks up a sharp object to use on herself, it is usually because she is in an abusive, emotionally destructive relationship. Her rage spins out of control.
"When her self-esteem is damaged so terribly by this relationship, she cuts at herself to act out her feelings of unworthiness. Sometimes, the mutilation is permanent. She doesn't care, because she feels so devalued that she may as well be marred and ugly.
"There are roots for the act, too, in her feeling that she is so controlled, so powerless, that she cuts at herself in a defiant act of controlling something, anything, even if it is control over her appearance.
"That Brook Lee took control of her body, and hacked at her appearance in the middle of a beauty pageant, may have been a small act of revenge, of striking back at an abusing corporation. It is the beginning of the awareness of her awful situation: that she has been treated like a piece of meat by the Miss Universe organization and, now, she really knows it. The cut is her first step toward independence.
"It says a lot that a woman of Brook's age, intelligence and potential was driven to mutilate her hair during the telecast. After all, she never NEEDED the pageant industry to advance a career or to give her an identity.
"Yet this very strong and able personality was reduced to a self-mutilating rage after a year under contact. We are damn lucky that it wasn't her wrists and I'm not joking. If Brook had been younger and more fragile, her statement might have been that much more of a damning cry for help.
"I hate to say this, especially when Brook is involved, but hookers are in the same situation with their pimps. They are desperate but have to go on with the show, because the agreement demands it and the punishment is severe. The Donald is known for using women like Kleenex.
"I have never had the pleasure of meeting Brook Lee, but it has always been clear that her talent is exceptional. It is also clear that without her make-up and glamour hairdo, she is one of many equally lovely island women. It was her spirit and soul which won her the title.
SHE should sue the Miss Universe Pageant for emotional cruelty. It would be so wonderful if she could do it right away, just to get back at the bastards who reduced her to a quivering mound of Jello. It is really sad when a person hurts herself to demonstrate empowerment.
"The haircut gesture is quite serious and shouldn't be ignored. Brook was damn courageous to do it in the middle of the pageant and then pull herself together to finish the show. It couldn't have been an easy thing to do. Maybe after all this settles down and she has a normal life, she can be persuaded to talk about it publicly."
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.