Vote Now for Miss Bumbum! Brazil's Rear of the Year Contest Opens Online

Monday was opening day for the fifth annual Miss Bumbum contest in Sao Paulo's city centre. 27 women, one from each of Brazil's states, showed up in bikinis to compete. The initial contestant pool was made up of over 500 women hoping to bring home the national title. Voting takes place online and the 15 most popular contestants on the event’s website will move on to a televised pageant on November 9. Though the current leader is Luciana Hoppers from Santa Catarina with 12.57%, that could change as voting intensifies. The contestants include a former porn star, a Kourtney Kardashian lookalike and a DJ known for her enormous breast implants. The contest is groundbreaking though in that it isn't just for the models and dancers. Last year Juliana Bittencortt, a plus-size model, made the top 28, and Patricia Oliveira became the oldest contestant ever when she competed at the age of 39 last year. And while there have been allegations of vote rigging and bribery in the past, the contestants seem ready to bare it all In a further boost to the growing body confidence movement, several of the contestants proudly strutted in their bikinis with their stretch marks on full display on their sculpted buns. Undeterred by magazine standards of perfection, these women paraded the streets in their yellow and green bikinis waving and stopping for photos and autographs. What do you think? Empowering or exploitative? h/t: Yahoo! News Canada Do you follow us on Instagram? [caption id="attachment_103227" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption]