Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants
Ashley long
3/14/2011
Research Paper
Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants We live in a society in which demands for equality abound. At some point, the rights and privileges associated with the “perfect” life. At the same time, it seemed that a trend began. Hyphenated Americans began their quest for the apparently ideal lifestyle that had been withheld from them. Women, gays, and lesbians began their own efforts to achieve this same equality outside of gender and sexual preference. And yet, despite it all, the beauty pageant survives. The Miss America pageant, one of the most famous of the beauty pageants, was not started with these higher ideals in mind, The pageant itself had undergone many changes in the last decade, in an attempt to keep is viable in today’s world. It would seem, despite the changes being made, that the role of Miss America no longer commands he same respect or sense of desirability that it once did. Yet people continue to tune in, every year that it is broadcast. Why? This paper will be used o examine the history of the pageant, as well as is representation in today’s media.
A Brief History of the Miss America Pageant The Miss America pageant began in 1921, “in an effort to keep tourists in Atlantic City, NJ after Labor Day” (Wikipedia “History”). The pageant evolved over the years, from a two day beauty peant that consisted primarily of a bathing suit contest, to one with a focus on more “professional women” (Wikipedia “History”). Today, women participate not only in events that focus on their beauty and poise, they also answer interview questions designed to test their intellect, as well as other challenges.
An Embattled Ideal
What is wrong with emphasizing beauty? Almost any Miss America coverage in the past ten years will tell the reader in no uncertain terms that emphasizing physical attributes over intelligence i a way to merrily skip down the road to perdition. In part, the problem with emphasizing beauty is that is
3/14/2011
Research Paper
Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants We live in a society in which demands for equality abound. At some point, the rights and privileges associated with the “perfect” life. At the same time, it seemed that a trend began. Hyphenated Americans began their quest for the apparently ideal lifestyle that had been withheld from them. Women, gays, and lesbians began their own efforts to achieve this same equality outside of gender and sexual preference. And yet, despite it all, the beauty pageant survives. The Miss America pageant, one of the most famous of the beauty pageants, was not started with these higher ideals in mind, The pageant itself had undergone many changes in the last decade, in an attempt to keep is viable in today’s world. It would seem, despite the changes being made, that the role of Miss America no longer commands he same respect or sense of desirability that it once did. Yet people continue to tune in, every year that it is broadcast. Why? This paper will be used o examine the history of the pageant, as well as is representation in today’s media.
A Brief History of the Miss America Pageant The Miss America pageant began in 1921, “in an effort to keep tourists in Atlantic City, NJ after Labor Day” (Wikipedia “History”). The pageant evolved over the years, from a two day beauty peant that consisted primarily of a bathing suit contest, to one with a focus on more “professional women” (Wikipedia “History”). Today, women participate not only in events that focus on their beauty and poise, they also answer interview questions designed to test their intellect, as well as other challenges.
An Embattled Ideal
What is wrong with emphasizing beauty? Almost any Miss America coverage in the past ten years will tell the reader in no uncertain terms that emphasizing physical attributes over intelligence i a way to merrily skip down the road to perdition. In part, the problem with emphasizing beauty is that is