Who would not want to be beautiful, talented, hard-working, and community-service oriented? Who would not want to go to college on scholarships? A beauty contest is a competition in which the entrants are judged as to physical beauty and sometimes personality and talent, with the winners being awarded titles or prizes. There are many types of beauty contest. The two main types are natural and glitz. Natural pageants focus on the contestant’s natural beauty while the glitz pageants are more glamorous; focusing on their high fashion evening gowns and swimsuits ("Glitz pageants," 2009).During pageants the competitors are judged on a variety of aspects. Some of the characteristics they are judged on include beauty, talent, formalwear, swimwear, essays, and interviews. Every pageant has their own distinct way of judging and kind of characteristics to judge on. Beauty contest serve a positive purpose in modern society for the contestants and contributors.
History
Pageants have been around for centuries. In history, beauty contest were a form of entertainment. In ancient China, special rules were created for selecting beauties (Shabanov, 2009). The first civilized beauty pageant was extremely modest according to a reporter of a Scandinavian newspaper(Nussbaum). All men wore tuxedos and women worn long dresses(Nussbaum). The first winner of an international pageant was Marthe Soucaret. The title she won was Most Beautiful Girl on the Planet and she also won five thousand franks (Shabanov, 2009). Beauty pageants became big in America in the 1920s. The first Miss America pageant was held on September 8, 1921. The winner was only sixteen years old. This pageant was also the first pageant that the girls wore swimwear ("Key facts and," 2011). Beauty contest have developed drastically overtime.
Developing Self-Esteem Beauty contest serve a variety of purposes to be a positive impression on today’s society by promoting
References: Bartolomeo, J. (2010, November 1). Father knows glitz. People, 74(16), 64-71. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ocproxy.palni.edu/ehost/detail?sid=d19e5eb2-afc1-4177-81fe- 39a699699469%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&hid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=5458862 Costin, C. (1999). Eating disorder sourcebook. (2 ed., p. 51). Linconwood, Il: NTC Contemporary.Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=24&hid=18&sid=9df952a0-4738-4d03-bcd6-325eb186618c%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=nlebk&AN=23974 Glitz pageants. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.elegantwoman.org/glitz-pageants.html Hulle, A. (2008, August 11). The strawberry girls. New Yorker, pp. 36-44. . Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ocproxy.palni.edu/ehost/detail?sid=718831d9-0197-47f0-88ee-c19f57d46be4%40sessionmgr11&vid=1&hid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=33540569 Key facts and figures. (2011). Retrieved from http://missamerica.org/organization-info/key-facts-and-figures.aspx Miss america faq. (2011). Retrieved from http://missamerica.org/competition-info/faq.aspx Miss usa crown slips. (2006, December 16). Daily Mail Reporter, p. 53. . Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ocproxy.palni.edu/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=10&sid=80393913-acb6-48f0-9ec5-9306631292d5%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tth&AN=23494672 Nussbaum, K. (n.d.). Children and beauty pageants. Retrieved from http://minorcon.org/pageants.html Scanlan, T. (2011, September 19). Miss america 2011 [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blog.missamerica.org/ Shabanov, N. (2009, September 23). World 's first-ever beauty pageant winner received 5,000 francs. Retrieved from http://english.pravda.ru/society/showbiz/23-09-2009/109453-beauty_pageant-0/