First Miss Great Britain of Indian origin

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We have reached yet another milestone as a community, one that was critical to our development. A desi of Indian origin has seized the coveted Miss Great Britain title!

With so few beauty pageant titles left unclaimed by the rising tide of brown in swimwear and heels, it was very important that we capture each of the remaining tiaras:

British-born Preeti Desai has become the first person of Indian origin to win the Miss Great Britain title replacing original winner Danielle Lloyd after she was stripped off the award for reportedly dating Judge Teddy Sheringham and agreeing to pose for Playboy magazine. [Link]

As with many winners, she has a heart-warming story behind her victory, one of filial piety:

Preeti gave all credit to her mum, who is recovering, from a serious illness. “When she was crowned Miss Great Britain she rang to tell me and said, ‘The crown is for you.’ I burst into tears. I felt as if I won that crown. I felt as if I am Miss Great Britain. She only wants to see me happy – both my girls do. They want to see me smiling thanks to them I was able to overcome that dreadful illness,” Hema said. [Link]

Like all good desi children, Preeti is multi-talented and ambitious. She worked for years in hair and beauty, before making a career switch to the family fireworks business and she may now be trying to get into property investment. In what I think are her own words:

She then started, and is currently working for the family business G2 Fireworks full time and was made Jr partner, which she built up after years of working for G2 Fireworks from being a child… Recently she decided to move to London and work as a model until she raised enough money to eventually get into the property business. [Link]

If you’re a fan, you can read her myspace page and personal website.

424 thoughts on “First Miss Great Britain of Indian origin”

  1. hmm, abhi, i never thought of it that way, and frankly it’s nice to hear. i stopped wearing heals because i spend a lot of time on my feet, either walking around or standing. i thought i was sacrificing my allure for the sake of my back 😉

    heels may be sexier, but i think flats can be as fashionable, esp if you’re going for a certain look…

  2. Another myth I’ll be happy to dispell. Heels make a woman sashay like flats never can.
    Sorry, I disagree with you here. I really don’t care how a woman sashays compared to how I size up to her. I’d be surprised if most men don’t agree with me. It ain’t the swing we care about (when a woman is vertical at least ;).

    I actually think you are both right. I do think most men would be uncomfortable dating someone who is taller than they are (and vice versa, as in most women don’t like dating shorter guys), so if the heels are making her taller or even almost as tall as him, he may not care for them. But I definitely agree with JoaT’s point about heels, as in I for one certainly like heels and appreciate them for all the reasons JoaT described. (And I’ve certainly watched my share of heels-wearing women from back and can confirm at least my fondness for heels vs. flats on that account. And yes, I realize that this is a horrible double standard, that they do horrible things to women’s feet, etc. etc. etc.)

  3. She has an old face and the body of a 14 yr asian boy. The idea of beauty these days is fucked up.

  4. I thought about this post when I saw an article in today’s WSJ on Italy, taking cue from Spain, setting weight guideline for fashion models. To quote extensively from it (since I can’t simply link to dem capitalist WSJ stories):

    “AFTER 15 YEARS of waif-like models, the world’s fashion scene is tiptoeing toward a healthier look. A global debate over whether models in fashion shows and glossy magazines are dangerously thin has been simmering over much of the past year — in part because of the recent death of a Brazilian model from anorexia. Yesterday, a movement to get emaciated models off the catwalk got a major boost when the Italian government and Italy’s fashion-trade organization — which organizes the Milan twice-yearly fashion shows — announced they were drafting a charter aimed at doing away with images of dangerously thin women. No concrete moves have been taken yet, and the charter would be unlikely to have legal value. Yet Milan is one of the world’s most important fashion cities — and home to important global brands such as Gucci, Versace and Prada — so the move could put unparalleled pressure on fashion houses and other fashion venues, such as Paris, to alter the look of their gaunt models.” … In the hey-day of the flashy, supermodel era of the late 1980s and 1990s — when brands like Armani and Versace made waves through Madison Avenue and Hollywood alike — supermodels such as Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer were slim but curvy. But suddenly in the early 1990s, the thinner look prevailed. Supermodel Kate Moss helped kick off the trend with a series of famous Calvin Klein ads in the early 1990s. Ms. Moss’s androgynous look captured the grunge scene of the early 1990s, a reversal from the go-go days of the 1980s. Quickly after, Italian fashion houses such as Prada and Gucci became the most aggressive in pushing the ultra-thin image in fashion capitals such as New York, Paris and Milan. A backlash began to spread to the industry this past fall. Organizers of Madrid fashion week, a local event that doesn’t attract much attention abroad, made headlines by barring models under a certain weight, after doctors’ and women’s groups protested against the emaciated look. Then, last month, the debate flared again after Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died of complications from anorexia. Cosmopolitan magazine in the U.S. has already picked up on the changing thinking. Kate White, editor-in-chief, recently created a policy against running illustrations of women who are too thin. “We were looking at some illustrations for the magazine and I thought, ‘We just have to put more meat on their bones,'” said Ms. White, who rejected the drawings and ordered up new ones. “In photographs, we make a real effort to use models who are not extraordinarily thin, but it’s tricky because fashion models tend to be thin,” she said. Starting with the February issue, Cosmopolitan illustrations of women now have to feature women who look like they wear a size 6 or 8, she adds. Similarly, designer Alice Roi designs her samples in sizes 4 and 6 and is eager to have the issue of weight addressed more openly. She believes the industry will gravitate toward healthier-looking models as part of a trend toward healthy living. “It’s not a hidden tragedy in the fashion world anymore,” Ms. Roi says. In Italy, the move against too-thin models is being spearheaded by Giovanna Melandri, Italy’s minister for youth policies, and Mario Boselli, the head of the National Chamber for Italian Fashion, an industry group. After the two met for an hour in Rome yesterday, they decided to draft a plan to combat what they say is the role fashion plays in the spread of anorexia. They plan to issue a “national manifesto” by January, in time to be applied to the women’s ready-to-wear fashion shows in February, Mr. Boselli said. The manifesto will also address fashion beyond the catwalk, including advertising. “We believe we can favor models with a sunny, Mediterranean image, not fragile young women,” said Mr. Boselli in an interview. “Optimistic-looking models are in line with Italian fashion.”

    Amen Senor. Boselli. I am with you on “a sunny, Mediterranean image, not fragile young women”. Sophia Loren anyone? 🙂

  5. SUCH temptation to go off on what heels have done to my feet! I’ll say only this: I earn every penny I spend on pedicures.

    Now, imagine Bipasha Basu in a black business suit with a light blue shirt — skirt or pant, your choice. Interchange flats and heels. You MUST see a difference.

    From my own (much less glamorous) experiences, I do feel femininely-stronger, more confident and more in-control when wearing heels. Dude, just maintaining balance and composure walking to that interview is an empowering experience! And heels totally lengthen the stride. Probably because you’re forced to be more aware of your movements.

    Also, Abhi, you said you don’t care for the sashay (which i can appreciate) but you didn’t deny the effect… =)

  8. You MUST see a difference

    Sorry, espressa. It might justify what you spend on shoes for me to tell you so but the difference I see in BB between when she wears flats and heels pales in comparison to whether or not she is taller than me or nearly as tall as me. And if I saw her in cross-trainers at the gym (as Manish Vij can personally attest to) I’d be in heaven.

  9. Also, Abhi, you said you don’t care for the sashay (which i can appreciate) but you didn’t deny the effect… =)

    I never deny anything 🙂

  10. Here is one more thought – (disclaimer – I am not saying it is the only reason, but I do think it is a factor)

    If the ideal is very difficult to reach for women, a lot of them will be perpetually unsatisfied with the way they look, which makes it easy to sell them things, beauty products, clothes that make you look thin etc. etc.

  11. I see in BB between when she wears flats and heels pales in comparison to whether or not she is taller than me or nearly as tall as me.

    So will you admit the taller fixation is more on your part? Desi men in general compare themselves to western men and get insecure about their heights. Why else would so many of them pump up their height by several inches in personal ads? 🙂 I suppose they think one may not notice the embellishment.

  12. Totally not about height! I’m not suggesting wearing heels to go brush your teeth. Just that, in certain environments, they add that extra oomph.

    Shakira! Super hot, super short. Super sexy in flats and barefoot. Undeniable.

    Put her in a suit and heels go better.

  13. So will you admit the taller fixation is more on your part? Desi men in general compare themselves to western men and get insecure about their heights. Why else would so many of them pump up their height by several inches in personal ads? 🙂 I suppose they think one may not notice the embellishment.

    JoAT, ALL men are fixated with height. All of them. It is probably the primary measure of our reproductive “fitness” in the eyes of women and we all know this from 5th grade gym class on. It is assumed by women that taller men are better equipped to ward off saber tooth cats and so that’s what women want. Desi men in the west live in the midst of a reproductive pool where the primary measure of fitness puts them at a disadvantage to their taller counterparts of European ancestry. How one deals with that natural insecurity is the difference. A shorter man who is loaded with cash (because of his intellect) can hire someone to kill the saber tooth cats for him and will still get the girl.

  15. Where’s Yo Dad when you need him? Hahahahahahahaha

    I’ve been praying all day that he hasn’t read this thread. 🙂

  16. Abhi, in 77 you admit tendencies that flout man’s natural insticts (that would point you towards women with hips) but now you seem to defending views based that uphold those same natural instincts…. no?

    For women, heels and height do not always live in a causal arrangement; height is not often a determining factor is whether a woman will wear heels.

  19. ALL men are fixated with height.

    i’m 5’8, for real. i don’t ‘pad.’ it is awkward when a guy who says he is “5’9” looks up at me 🙂

  20. A shorter man who is loaded with cash (because of his intellect) can hire someone to kill the saber tooth cats for him and will still get the girl.

    I have heard different versions of this from Gujju friends many a time! (That due to their brains and wealth they can always just hire someone to handle something that they can’t!)

  21. the difference I see in BB between when she wears flats and heels pales in comparison to whether or not she is taller than me or nearly as tall as me.

    i don’t think that secure, strong women would think about her clothing choice, food consumption choice, heels vs sneakers choice so diligently with obsessive hopes of finding a mate to procreate with… whatever happened to doing something just because you felt like it! heels totally give a booster!

    i usually wear flats because i am on my feet a lot and need to… but there are days when i like to just take more time to fix my hair, wear something nice and wear HEELS because i need a change!!

    even if i were dating a guy closer to my height or shorter than me, and i wanted to wear heels occasionally, i would hope that he was secure enough to be ok with it. it might just be in his favour that i felt good about myself, even if it took heels…

  22. Another myth I’ll be happy to dispell. Heels make a woman sashay like flats never can. They add a certain grace in a woman’s walk, make her legs look lean and long and sexy and elongage her body in the right direction. Watch a woman walk in heels from the back versus someone in flats. You absolutely cannot immitate that walk in heels with flats and men simply don’t look at you the same way.

    And they accentuate Certain Features.

  23. But ladies, as I guy I have to agree with Abhi. I mean a short woman who’s hot can get more men than a taller woman…(e.g. Salma Hayek and Eva Longoria, both sexy hotties and both 5’2″) considered one of the most beautiful in the world, and they’re aren’t supermodel tall.

    Now short guys…unless you’re rich, a musician, or your name happens to be Napoleon or Prince (a rich singer/musician/songwriter), it’s hard for us to get a woman. Now athletic guys in the NFL/NBA are 6 feet tall and up…Women are waiting for them near the locker rooms, hotels, airports, can’t wait to get with the jocks.

  25. I bought three pairs of flats this year and while my girl friends coo at the cute metallic colors and ask where they can get their own, I’ve received non-stop haterade from formerly adoring male friends, who had never seen me in anything less than a 3″ heel previously.

    I’m not surprised– I can’t remember the last time I saw a porn star, Victoria’s Secret Angel (NSFW…duh) or Maxim model wearing BALLET FLATS. Abhi may be an adorable exception regarding this preference for female footwear. 😉

  26. I’ve received non-stop haterade from previously adoring male friends, who had never seen me in anything less than a 3″ heel previously. I’m not surprised– I can’t remember the last time I saw a porn star, Victoria’s Secret Angel (NSFW…duh) or Maxim model wearing BALLET FLATS. Abhi may be an adorable exception regarding this preference for female footwear. 😉

    I wish I were an exception as it might help me with the ladies but I am not. Men will adore all sorts of things, but at the end of the day their strongest preference to do something more than just adore will be for women that are physically smaller than them and height is included into that equation. If you look at all human interaction in the context of us being nothing but animals it all makes sense (to me at least). How many men do you personally know that have made a play for Maxim models, porn stars, or Victoria Secret Angels?? I don’t know any myself. Men talk a big game but the flat-heelers win out at the end of the day. 🙂

  27. I mean a short woman who’s hot can get more men than a taller woman…

    Define “short”. If you mean 5’2, I disagree. Salma and Eva are hot despite being short. They’re just HOT. I’m a minor expert on what brown boys like (insert sarcasm tag here) since that’s ALL I have dated, for the past fifteen years. They ranged all the way from 5’7 to 6’5 and every one of them said something to the the effect of, “if you were shorter I may not have dated you”. Uh, I’m 5’6.

    When it comes to those who were 6’+, I understand that it’s sort of a practical thing as well as an aesthetic one, but I remember being mildly amused to vaguely irritated at 5’7 and 5’8, both of whom were way more dick about how short I was and thus, how lucky I was that they had taken a chance on my midget ass. “Why do you need such a tall girl?”, I asked both of them and they each had the same answer: “So I can have tall kids. My dad is my height and my mom is 5’2…look at what I got stuck with.” So it’s all about reproductive success, yet again.

    Men may not want women to tower over them (though I think this isn’t entirely true…look what Tom Cruise keeps marrying), but they do find tall attractive, especially if by tall, we mean 5’7-5’9…i.e. like Miss Great Britain, here.

  28. Men will adore all sorts of things, but at the end of the day their strongest preference to do something more than just adore will be for women that are physically smaller than them and height is included into that equation.

    Yes, Abhi darling. And that is why it’s awesome that you can get turned on by your wife as she sashays about in 3.5″ stiletto heels, all the while knowing that later, when you rip them off of her before attempting to pass your alleles on to a new generation, she’ll go back to being 5’2. You and I are BOTH right.

  29. ok. this thread is starting to disturb me. again and again and again it circles back to what men want in a woman — in accordance with papa darwin, when convenient. the women try to assert that the reasons we wear heels (or desire a certain figure) often have, for better or worse, nothing to do with trying to bag a man, but this argument — straight from many mares’ mouths — is disregarded. Its not all about you, oh coveted male suitor.

  30. I think most guys loook for a girl who’s maybe 3-4 inches shorter than them. So it depends on the guys height. I’m 6’1 and generally look for girls from 5’7 upto say 5’10. Thats the ideal range for me. Anna is right…the height of the offspring thing is what many of us do think about, even if we would not want to admit it..having said all that…I have a thing for very tall women..like above 5’10….this as you can imagine is not a large dating pool and non existent in desi circles… 🙁

  32. also, just so i don’t get my hopes up… should I be a 2 or a 4? what if i’m pushing a 6 but have DDs?

  33. I think most guys loook for a girl who’s maybe 3-4 inches shorter than them. So it depends on the guys height. I’m 6’1 and generally look for girls from 5’7 upto say 5’10. Thats the ideal range for me. Anna is right…the height of the offspring thing is what many of us do think about, even if we would not want to admit it..

    Its been a while since I was anywhere on the dating scene, but I have absolutely no memory of such mental calculations. Future offsprings? Really?

  35. Testify, chet snicker! You told the truth right there! And espressa, how tall are you anyway? Just curious, b/c if whether you’re 5’1 or 6’1, if you have DDs, PLEASE give ME a call, email, smoke signal, etc. 😉

  36. attempting to pass your alleles on to a new generation

    Is that what we are calling it these days?

  37. Hah. I hate you for that, but I’ll admit that I laughed.

    Stop being such chauvinists!!!!!! Yes, we all have preferences and we all have insecurities. Do we reeallyy need to mask one with grunts of Darwinian calculations seeking to justify the other?

    Cuz I can grunt too…

  38. Well I’m 5’2″ and to me my height always seemed like a huge disadvantage. Short women are considered cute, but it’s the tall ones that are sexy.

  39. Well, well, well. This conversation has certainly taken some interesting turns in my absence. I’m glad to see it’s remained reasonably friendly and civilised, though — I’d half-expected to find the thread shut down at post #435 after slanging matches involving words such as “misogyny” and “objectification” and so on. Which hasn’t happened, fortunately. Well done, everyone 😉

    Re: hip to waist ratio Desai’s figures:

    I love the way Ennis is using every possible excuse to keep accessing that webpage with all those photos of Preeti in various stages of undress 😉

    AlMfD & Razib,

    The discussion is ripe for Jai Singh to make an entry again….Where are you bro?

    Yeah I was asleep. I don’t live in front of my computer, y’know 🙂

    Okay, regarding the whole light skin vs dark skin issue. I’m not going to belabor the point or get dragged into any kind of protracted debate about it because you know how weird some people on SM can get about this topic, and personally I also find it really irritating — on the whole, desis in Britain (especially guys) don’t obsess about the subject and neither are people in general hypersensitive about it. However, there is some merit in both sides of the argument, regarding Razib’s points vs Naina & Desishiksa. Razib’s following comment in particular is relevant:

    she is not light in the context of ms. great britain, just light enough.

    However, it is not correct to say that from the perspective of the average English person, Preeti would just be “dark”. Judging from the photos — which, as people have mentioned, may have been “adjusted” — she would be regarded as “dark” in the way that many Meditteranean people are viewed (or Hispanics). People of African origin would be viewed as dark in the real sense of the term. So would the darker desis here (in the context of the British South Asian population — they may still be markedly lighter than the “average” desi back in the subcontinent). If the English person concerned has a mental image of the “average” Indian all those thousands of miles away looking more like Naveen Andrews, then the fact that Preeti’s a lot lighter than that will not go unnoticed. Speaking from personal experience.

    Judging from the photos, Preeti’s skin colour is approximately middle of the range for British South Asians as a whole, she’s a shade or so lighter than the average British Gujarati woman, and she’s obviously darker than the small-but-noticeable minority of British Punjabi, Pakistani and (less common but they do exist) Gujarati women here in the UK who are as light-skinned as the average English woman.

    MD,

    Jai Singh: I hate that kind of jargon speak too. It may be American (University) lingo, but lots of Americans find it kind of silly, nonetheless.

    It’s interesting to hear that. I’d never heard of any of these terms before I started visiting SM (“exotification” is another one), and I’d wondered if Americans these days really speak like that or if it was something more specific to SM. Exotification, my ass 😉

  40. Namitabh Bachchan, JoaT etc,

    I will hand it to the UK re: body image. It is fabulous living in a country where a woman doesn’t have to feel like she needs to be stick skinny

    That’s actually quite true. Disorders such as anorexia and bulemia do exist amongst British white women too, but it’s correct that the average gauri doesn’t necessarily feel the need to starve herself to death. Going to the gym is of course fairly popular too (interestingly, for a long time it’s been more common amongst 2nd-Gen British desis — both male and female — than our white counterparts), but the fact that the typical figure for English women is “pear-shaped” means there isn’t a tendency for the “straight-up-and-down ironing board” stereotype which I’ve seen mentioned in the American media. I’ve often found it amusing when such “flat booty” stereotypes are remarked upon about white women, including the occasional disparaging remark here on SM. It’s not something that’s an issue amongst English women.

    Which of course has some interesting ramifications, given the recent fashion for low-rise, skinny-fit jeans etc. You gotta love the view. Stop frowning, I’m allowed to make the occasional frat-bro type comment 😉

    JoaT,

    Another myth I’ll be happy to dispell. Heels make a woman sashay like flats never can. They add a certain grace in a woman’s walk, make her legs look lean and long and sexy and elongage her body in the right direction. Watch a woman walk in heels from the back versus someone in flats. You absolutely cannot immitate that walk in heels with flats and men simply don’t look at you the same way.

    Agreed completely. I love it when a leggy lady wears high heels. God bless strappy stilettos.

    Neal,

    And they accentuate Certain Features

    God bless those “Certain Features” 🙂

    Tall_Indian_Dude,

    I have a thing for very tall women..like above 5’10….this as you can imagine is not a large dating pool and non existent in desi circles…

    I recommend you go to some social functions where there are a large number of Jatt Sikh women present…..

  41. From my own (much less glamorous) experiences, I do feel femininely-stronger, more confident and more in-control when wearing heels.

    Camille Paglia once said something along the lines of – “the difference between modern and 60’s feminists is whether you consider high heels empowering or oppressive”

  42. I really wish some of you would stop using the term “we” and “us” when you refer to straight men.

    tall_indian_dude (#341):

    the height of the offspring thing is what many of us do think about, even if we would not want to admit it..

    NOT ME!

    Are you guys nuts? Height of offspring? Childbearing capacity? Do you ask for family history of heart disease and mental illness on the first date or the second date??? And does the third date involve a trip to the gynecologist?

    Jai Singh (#340):

    I’d half-expected to find the thread shut down at post #435 after slanging matches involving words such as “misogyny” and “objectification” and so on.

    Indeed, what progress! Please excuse me while I fling my poop across the room.

  43. If the ideal is very difficult to reach for women, a lot of them will be perpetually unsatisfied with the way they look, which makes it easy to sell them things, beauty products, clothes that make you look thin etc. etc.

    Isn’t almost everyone, to varying degrees, perpetually unsatisfied with the way they look?

  44. And they accentuate Certain Features
    God bless those “Certain Features” 🙂

    With heels comes the bounce, the tightness..its all good in the neighborhood. I have never been with taller woman as they get crossed off my list asa they stand up (same height as me after she wears heels is tolerable).

  45. JOAT-315, and ABHI-316: There, I finally glimpsed over most of the comments. I was too busy with other mundane things. It is truly amazing what a Gujarati Girl called Preeti Desai from UK have started. A real mutiny here in USA among young folks. The beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder. And as Cinamon Rani of SA said they have changed over the centuries, since we were Neanderthal to modern day species. Procreation instinct has litle to do with BMI or W/H ratio, or any other such staistics. If it clicks between two member of our species, no staistics in the world will stop them. I think you guys should discuss more important subjects – like: Saving genocide in Darfur, or saving our environment, or where have all the water on MARS gone, etc… rather than Apples, Pears, Coconuts or Mangoes. Abhi you can stop praying and waste your time building biceps, and Ennis can stop growing tall, and on and on and on. [Just my nickel’s worth]

  48. Sumiti: I don’t know about “Genes” and if they can carry the DNA/RNA of parent to the offspring as for the thought process and prevalent mores of the modern “Culture”. Tell you what. I have few bell-bottom “Jeans” lying around in the closet that I can pass on to Abhi – as if that will make any difference!! Seriously guys what counts is the inner beauty – not the superficial.

  49. I think you guys should discuss more important subjects – like: Saving genocide in Darfur, or saving our environment, or where have all the water on MARS gone, etc… rather than Apples, Pears, Coconuts or Mangoes.

    Gulp!!

    Its been a while since I was anywhere on the dating scene, but I have absolutely no memory of such mental calculations. Future offsprings? Really?

    Oh don’t get me started. I’m 5’2 and on any given day am about 5’5 – 5’6 and I’ve had guys who were 5’6 reject me because I’m too “short”. Hello it’s not like you are Jordan for cryin out loud. So whether they are 6′ (my ex) or 5’6 they still want someone “tall” to procreate. My ex used to think that way, he wanted someone taller so his kids would be tall. I know another girlfriend who had an ex who used to be really bugged about the fact that she was petite.

    Just look at some of the personal ads on the Indian websites… “Seeking someone 5’9 and taller ONLY” when the guy is 6′! Do you see that kind of nonsense on match.com? Hell no. Desi boys are stupid like that.

  50. maybe I have weird tastes.. but ms. desai leaves me completely unmoved. too skinny, the face isnt really beautiful etc. etc. mind you she is good looking and brown but ms. britain? or even ms. nauru? come on. this seems to be an AA appointee.