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Amanda Zachreus Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 26 November 2013 Is It Beauty over Brains Now? Beauty pageants began in 1921 and the contest, along with the publics perception has significantly changed over the years. This change was an emphasis on intelligence evolving to an emphasis on physical beauty. The transformation has sparked controversial debate as to whether or not pageants should continue to exist today. In many opinions, pageants display unattainable beauty creating a false sense of self in women and a more demeaning characterization of women altogether. Some still believe beauty pageants are beneficial offering scholarship money and career opportunities; however, in this authors opinion, any good that comes from pageants is overlooked by societys fixation on what beauty and its role in the competition. Pageants, such as Miss America, need to change or be stopped all together because of the way they objectify women and set unrealistic standards for superficial beauty. The Miss America Pageant began in 1921 as a bathing beauty contest but quickly transformed to include and emphasize intelligence. In fact, the prize for winning the crown in 1945 was a $5000 scholarship. Over the years, the prize has increased to a $45,000 scholarship award. Hillary Levey Friedman, a sociologist and author of Playing to win: Raising Children in a Completive Culture states: every smart young woman should consider competing in the Miss America Pageant (Friedman). She further explains that in 2012 the Miss America organization awarded more than $45 million to the approximately 12,000 contestants who

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competed across the country. These facts seem to indicate that the Miss America Pageant and others like it are an excellent source of funding ones college education, much like any other grant, academic, or athletic scholarship opportunity. Friedman goes on to explain that beyond scholarships, Miss America winners also go on to become well-known, national public figures engaging in many, worthy social causes. They use their notoriety to enhance and draw attention to the cause or causes with which they are involved. Some have even gone on to serve in public office. Not bad results for just looking pretty. In further support, some have argued that the evolution of the Miss America Pageant has mirrored the evolution of racial equality in America. The pageant has demonstrated that a woman of color has all the brains and beauty of any woman. Elwood Watson, a professor of history and African American studies states the pageant has been beneficial to woman of color. Since 1970, when Suzette Charles was the first black contestant in the Miss America Pageant, there have been numerous black contestants and several black winners. Since the historic crowning of (Vanessa) Williams, seven other black women and one Asian woman have won the Miss America crown. Over the past four decades, woman of color from all over the country from Oregon to Delaware to Kentucky and Mississippi have sent contestants to compete for the coveted crown (Charles). Charles goes on to say While it was a rarity to see many woman of color participating in the Miss America Pageant prior to mid-1980, such a reality is no longer the case (Charles). The pageant not only mirrored societys advancements in racial equality, but perhaps due to its national media prominence, it may have helped fuel the racial equality cause. There are many other arguments in support of the pageant, but there are also many detractors. Blain Roberts, an associate professor of history at California State University said, beauty contests exploit women, sexualize their bodies and encourage conformity to

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ludicrous beauty standards (Roberts). Although the Miss America Pageant, along with other pageants in America, has been in existence since 1921, they are now an established piece of Americana. Since its beginning, there have been people who have protested against pageants. Pageants have become a big issue due to the amount of weight loss required from the pageant contestants in order to be competitive and appealing to the viewers eyes. Because contestants are losing weight, for what many argue to be for all the wrong reasons, this weight loss has sent younger girls watching the contests a wrong message of how women are supposed to look. Looking back on previous Miss Americas and other pageant winners, the girls were thin but healthy because of the amount of exercise activity recorded in their daily regimens. Today, the girls appear to be all skin and bones due to either poor nutrition resulting from dangerous dieting techniques or excessive amounts of exercise. In many instances, its both. Former pageant competitors aren't the only who've noticed. In 2009, Australia's representative to the Miss Universe pageant, Stephanie Naumoska, was deemed too unhealthy to compete in the international event, weighing just 108 pounds at 5 feet 11 inches tall. (Former Miss America). Roberts agrees. Pageant winners are becoming too skinny, sending an unhealthy message to women and young girls. Some believe pageants should die altogether. These detractors think that real beauty cannot be properly represented in a beauty pageant. Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters and Do it Anyway: The New Generation of Activists stated Lets face it: the most beautiful women youve ever encountered would be total losers in a traditional pageant. Thats because authentic, messy, transcendent beauty cant be scored. It isnt tamed, plucked, planned, premeditated or rehearsed. And people like Donald Trump, who owns the Miss America Pageant, are clearly not the purveyors of it (Martin). Martins view is that real beauty

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is about attitude, what is on the inside. In her words real beauty is about resilience: girls and women who have been through something and come out the other side with an idiosyncratic scar or a hard-earned wrinkle, like the lines of a powerful story (Martin). This view however does not sell. Pageants, to a large degree, are about corporate sponsorships and high ratings that attract lucrative advertising dollars. According to Martin, this is the very reason pageants should die. They exploit womans bodies for mere profit. Pageants are money making machines fueled by female insecurity and submission (Martin). Despite the potential benefit of scholarships and job opportunities, the message that pageant competitions send does more harm to the viewing public than it does good. The viewing public is made up of young girls who will never compete in a competition to win a prize. They will only be trying to live up to the superficial standards that pageants set. The easily impressed girls will do all the harmful things like starvation dieting, plastic surgery, and taking weight loss supplements and medications just so they can look as much like the contestants as they possibly can. In their eyes, the false beauty put out by pageants is what is desired by all; especially by member of the opposite sex. As stated previously, pageants, such as Miss America, need to change or be stopped all together because of the way they objectify women and set unrealistic standards for superficial beauty. More to the point pageant should just cease to exist. I wonder what impact that would have on the publics perception of beauty.

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Works Cited

"Former Miss America: Pageant Contestants Today Are Too Skinny." Huff Post Style. Huggington Post, 19 June 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Friedman, Hilary Levey. "Big Money to Be Made." Room for Debate. New York Times, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Martin, Courtney E. "Beauty Pageants Should Die." Room for Debate. New York Times, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Roberts, Blain. "Still Sending the Wrong Message." Room for Debate. New York Times, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Watson, Elwood. "Beneficial for Colored Women." Room for Debate. New York Times, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.