How many base points are there for a smile? Skaters, particularly the Ladies are more concerned about their looks than the Men. Who cares if you are going for the points? (It is a contest.) How much closer should the Senior Ladies get to the smiles of the uninhibited little tykes in the Children's Pagaents or the serious smiles of the Ladies in Ms Universe?
Is Ladies Figure Skating to be how pagaents are judged? No wonder the men of sports shy away from it. it's not like Evert v. Natrilova.
My feeling is that ladies care about looks because judges care about them, consciously or subconsciously. Audiences care about them, and consequently skating in general cares about them. In the days when skaters had enough clout to become spokespeople for nationally advertised brands, advertisers looked for either cuteness or glamor. I'm sure you can think of one or two top American lady skaters who did not become household words. They were talented but didn't look like Peggy or Dorothy. This is a pressure that's exerted more on ladies than on men, in just about every aspect of life. I don't like that the world is like this. But I can't bring myself to blame skaters themselves for trying to look like Hollywood creations.