I never watched the Miss America pageant growing up. Instead, I watched Miss Hong Kong on the Chinese channel. My parents turned it on, and we would watch as young women played the harp and cat-walked around the stage in swimsuits.
That being said, I did grow up watching a version of Miss America, as did most other little girls around the world. Almost every country has their own type of pageant in which women are pitted against one another so judges can crown the most talented and beautiful of the bunch.
As we watched, my parents would jokingly say that I should try out for a pageant, or even that one of our family friends would be perfect for the competition. But once the show was over, my parents would immediately tell me not to get any ideas since none of those girls were in these pageants for their brains. This stereotype of pageant contestants isn’t uncommon. Most of the time, we all think of a contestant as simply a pretty face, hot body and an empty head.
Yes, sometimes their answers to questions may not seem to be the most informed, but these women aren’t participating in a presidential debate. They may be earning the votes of the people, but these people do not have the mindset of electing someone into office. However, the real problem here is how women are being portrayed in these contests.
Women are being made into jokes — pure entertainment for the consumption of men (and other women). It is damaging to present women as mentally inadequate, and this further enforces the assumption that we are just pretty little things to look at.
Whether vying for Miss America or Miss Universe, many of these women are doing great things offstage. For example Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, is a nurse. But while some of these women show off their charity work and have truly done extraordinary things, the beauty aspects of these shows overshadow their actions.
When we place the focus on beauty, society’s idea of what is considered “beautiful” becomes warped. White, tall and thin females make up the majority of the contestants in the Miss America competition. In recent years, the diversity in the competition has been better — in 2013, Nina Davuluri became the first Indian American to be crowned Miss America. However, many Miss America contestants are not minorities.
Frankly, I think it’s time we get rid of beauty pageants once and for all. There’s no reason for these archaic competitions to exist, or for them to be ingrained as part of our society’s rituals.
I understand the fame and the money that comes with the title of being Miss anything, but the path to attaining that title is so damaging to a woman’s well-being. Yes, I’m all for putting on makeup and showing off your unique talents, but do we need to add scorecards, judges and primetime television into the mix?
I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that strutting your swimsuit-clad body on a stage for a panel of judges is a real thing that happens. These women do make positive impacts with their fame by working with charities, and the money often helps them pay for schooling.
One could make the valid argument that these young women choose to enter these competitions — they’re adults. But what about the little girls who are forced into these pageants?
The world of “Toddlers and Tiaras” exists outside of TLC. There are real, young girls out there who enter these competitions under extreme pressure. It was difficult for me to watch even a few episodes of this show. These little girls have barely even learned how to read, but they are being pumped full of sugar so that they will sassily dance in front of judges and win the crown.
They’re strongly urged to believe that beauty runs the world around them and that winning is what matters. I don’t see how caking makeup on five year olds progresses us as a society. In what world is it right to put your children in short dresses, glitter and makeup in order to earn some money?
How will these kids be affected long-term? They’ll grow up believing their worth is tied into how beautiful they are and how much better they are than other women. In many ways, pageantry enforces and encourages women tearing down other women.
Even growing up, I was influenced by the contestants I saw on screen. They seemed like the ideal version of beauty that every girl should strive for. I can only imagine the damage done to girls who compete in these pageants. It’s time we give these competitions a 0/10.
