Preview

Sasaaa

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
815 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sasaaa
Name: Sarah Liu
Course: RW6
Instructor: Lina
Date: Monday 03/12/2012
Assignment: Synthesis essay

BEAUTY CONTESTS Beauty contests are popular in different countries around the world. The Miss World competition, biggest beauty contest in the world, has been running year in year out since 1951. From the official data statistics (http://www.missworld.com/), the first Miss World procession welcomed a global audience much greater than international events such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games. There are beauty contests for different kinds of categories included sex, age and sexuality. This essay especially focuses on adult women’s beauty contests as undoubtable the most popular and prominence version. A great number of people think that the beauty contest is good for individuals and the society because it confirms a standard type of beauty. Nevertheless, contrary to the abovementioned statement, I strongly believe that the beauty contests have adverse effects.

First of all, beauty contests unify concept of beauty and sometimes the concept is superficial. There are two arguements support this point of view. One was raised in a book written in 1991 which caused a phenomenon upon publication: The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf. Wolf theorizes a cause-and-effect relationship between women's liberation and society's ideal of beauty. Although females have already advanced and more open minded than before, Wolf resists that, "in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated grandmothers." Why people hold this value or why this thought appears in the modern society is because of how "cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us." Briefly, the ideal of women’s beauty dominates contemporary women in all probability which did not experienced by former generations. Therefore, feminist Jo Freeman wrote in the 1968 protest No More Miss America, "All
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Toddlers In Tiara Arument Analysis
    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Toddlers In Tiara Arument Analysis

    “Toddlers in Tiaras,” an article by Skip Hollandsworth, gives a glimpse into the world of child beauty pageants. It brings forth food for thought when one considers the “sexploitation“ of young girls, toddlers, even infants. In addition, it addresses the focus these pageants put on physical perfection and how these young ones are bombarded not only that singular focus but it questions their future development in light of the suggestive costumes and gestures they are encouraged to engage in. The article also questions the motives of parents who insist on pushing their children into these pageants and whether participation puts their children in danger .…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    teaching assistant L2
    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages

    teaching assistant L2

    The educational welfare officer works with schools, pupils and families to resolve any issues. Their responsibilities would include meeting with the school, pupils and parents to identify problems and possible solutions. They may also make home/school visits to provide any on-going...…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Through The Mirror Of Beauty Culture Summary
    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through The Mirror Of Beauty Culture Summary

    The article “Through the Mirror of Beauty Culture”, by Carla Rice, describes the struggle women experience to fit in the ideal picture of “beauty” that society constructed. The main argument is to change our way of defining beauty. To support the argument, most of the cultures view beauty as women being used as objects and sex symbols. I agree with the author’s opinion about rethinking beauty.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    how to survive the age of distraction summary
    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages

    how to survive the age of distraction summary

    Is the tangible book going out of style? In the article "How to Survive the Age of Distraction." Johann Hari implies the question: is the paperback book becoming forgotten in the face of electronic technology or can there be a balance?…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Positives in Pageants
    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Positives in Pageants

    The debate about beauty pageants is as varied as the kind of beauty pageants which are in existence today. Pageants go anywhere from the traditional late teens, early twenties, type pageant; to children’s pageants; to pageants for the disabled; and pageants for everything in between. No matter what kind of pageant it is, beauty is always a factor in determining the pageant’s outcome. That does not necessarily mean exterior beauty though; some pageants focus on inner beauty and strength.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Argumentative Essay On Child Pageants
    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Argumentative Essay On Child Pageants

    The idea of child pageants creates much conflict and discouragement to others whom do not have children. Young girls whom participate in this activity are portrayed as sex objects just as women are as models because they are subjected to looking older and much more sensual. However, in some cases having children in child pageants creates social skills along with comfortability performing in front of others. The idea of little girls being entered into child pageants is intimidating to most people due to the fact that children are not supposed to look like adults until they are old enough. Many people frown upon the whole concept of a child being exposed to older men and women having them wear makeup and flirtatious outfits. As older women are also involved in beauty pageants, they too go through extreme acts of body changes making it harder for parents to fathom. Restricting little girls from engaging in beauty pageants or contests protects them from dangerous people along with remaining pure with their self-worth, learning to live as a child and not a woman, and retaining a healthy emotional mind.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography
    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Annotated Bibliography

    Beauty pageants made their first appearances in America during the 1920’s, where women flaunted around casinos, determined to win a crown for their physical attractiveness. The owner of the casino where these activities occurred, figured that this would attract more tourists. Throughout the years, more modern pageants were formed, like Ms. USA and Ms. America. Following in the footsteps of its adult form, child beauty pageants merged into the 1960’s. Child beauty pageants usually consist of modeling sportswear, evening wear, and showing off any special talent they may have. Judges critique the girls individually, based on their physical looks, poise, confidence, and perfection. To the judges, this is called “the complete package.” Although the objective of most child pageants is to build confidence and self-worth, beauty pageants can be considered exploitive to minors by causing them to believe in unrealistic ideas about beauty.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Common Ground Essay- Child Beauty Pagents
    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Common Ground Essay- Child Beauty Pagents

    People who are against the pageants complain that they should be eliminated because they exploit children and place them in harm’s way. They claim because of major dangers; no one under the age of eighteen should be placed in a beauty pageant. The children who are in the pageants are dressed up in adult’s clothing, have piles of make up on, and are harming their bodies. They are harming their bodies by putting the make up on and tanning. By putting make up on at such young of an age, their face ages faster. By tanning, they begin to get that urge that some adults have to tan, which makes their skin age and have wrinkles early. It also puts them at the risk of having skin cancer at an early age. They say it also appeals the children to sexual predators. When a child is half naked on stage and sometimes on TV, these sexual predators see them and may even try to meet them. Sexual predators are only part of the problem. Studies show that every child who may benefit from the competition, hundreds of others suffer damage to their self-esteem and have warped self-vision of themselves and their bodies. Many times, they use JonBenet, a young child who competed in these pageants at the age of six. She was murdered in the basement of her home by a sexual predator. The suspect claimed he became aware of her by the pageants being on television.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stereotypes in America
    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Stereotypes in America

    Before Miss USA even was a thought in 1951 there has always been a standard held to what is beautiful. The ancient Greeks wrote of goddesses who were fertile and glowing and to this day has been a permanent foundation for “beauty.” Women got taught that beauty is what they see on the outside because if a female cannot get the necessary glow needed naturally then do it synthetically. These ways that women were communicated about are extremely prevalent still to this day if not more so, because even though in ancient Greece women were goddesses with being fertile and glowing there was beauty on males mind as well. It was only until Christianity came along and “…sent beauty adrift-as an alienated, arbitrary, superficial enhancement. For close to two centuries it has become a convention to attribute beauty to only of the two sexes: the sex which, however fair, is always second. Associating beauty with women has put beauty even further on the defensive, morally.” (Sontag.488.2) This argues for the fact that maybe the word “beautiful” hasn’t been always synonymous with females. Today’s society has the means of communicating what is “beautiful”…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes In Pageants
    • 2146 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Stereotypes In Pageants

    Many girls are put under so much pressure that they face many issues of depression if they don’t win. These reasons are why we need to have an age limit on pageants and not let girls compete in glitz pageants when they are younger. The glitz pageants should only be offered to girls who have had a makeup routine and are old enough to get fake nails, spray tanned, and their legs…

    • 2146 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Informative Essay On Horse Racing
    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Informative Essay On Horse Racing

    Description: Kick-start a journey towards exciting and rewarding moments with these helpful horse racing betting tips and strategies for beginners.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of The Article 'What Are We Teaching Our Girls'
    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Summary Of The Article 'What Are We Teaching Our Girls'

    She takes a neutral opinion about beauty pageants and sheds light on some positive effects surrounding beauty pageants as well as the negative on young girls. In the article, she writes about the different types of pageants. The first pageant discussed is one that involves contestants performing a talent and participating in an interview in order to win a prize aimed toward their education, such as a scholarship for college. The second type of pageant talked about is the pageant based only on the physical appearance of the contestant. These types of pageants often do not contain an education prize to the winner. She argues that the second type of pageant objectify young girls and make them believe that only outward beauty is important. She then opposes her statement by saying there is no reason that young girls should be ashamed of flaunting their physically beauty. I think this article has potential to be useful in my paper. It gives both a positive and negative view of beauty…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Beauty Myth Research Paper
    • 1718 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Beauty Myth Research Paper

    However, making this standard for women go away is much easier said than done. Virginia Woolf said that “It is far more difficult to murder a phantom than a reality” (Wolf 2). With this in mind, Naomi Wolf in her book “The Beauty Myth” tried to understand what the Beauty Myth is based on. She argues that the Beauty Myth is not about women at all. “It claims to be about intimacy and sex and life, a celebration of women. It is actually composed of emotional distance, politics, finance, and sexual repression.” In other words, Wolf said that “The Beauty Myth is about men’s institutions and institutional power” (Wolf 13). In her book, Wolf never mentioned specific “ways” to get rid of the beauty myth. She does, however, say this: “If we are to free ourselves from the dead weight that has once again been made out of femaleness, it is not ballots of lobbyists or placards that women will need first; it is a new way to see” (Wolf 19). In order for the Beauty Myth to truly be destroyed, people need to look beyond the modern aspects of society that portray women in such objectifying ways. If changes are to be made, women need to stand up for themselves and see themselves as the beautiful women they were created to…

    • 1718 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Beauty Myth
    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Beauty Myth

    Modern times have revealed a more tolerant attitude expressed by society towards those who in the past have been seen as lower class. This included people of other races, of mental disability, those in poverty, diseased, the elderly, children, and women. However, underneath this false sense of tolerance and the “standard belief” that women and men are created equal is the beauty myth. The Beauty Myth is everywhere in media and the social order. Women’s rights and equality is controlled through false standards of beauty by society. “It is a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against women’s advancement: the beauty myth”.…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beauty Myth
    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beauty Myth

    Amani Mosa April. 26, 2013 English 120 -­ 013 Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf Page 3. “This embodiment is an imperative for women and not for men, which situation is necessary and natural because it is biological, sexual, and evolutionary: Strong men battle for beautiful women, and beautiful women are more reproductively successful.” I found this quote interesting, but I didn’t understand exactly what Wolf meant by this. Page 4. “The beauty myth is not about women at all. It is about men’s institutions and institutional power.” I’m not too sure what Wolf means by this quote, but I do believe men have a huge impact on how we, women, see ourselves. Men seem to have an influence on women and how we tend to see ourselves, if a guy tells us we are “ugly” we would quickly believe him even if it’s taken as a joke. Not all men tend to be positive, instead they can verbally abuse a woman and make her feel inferior. This lowers her self-­esteem and makes her not like herself. Having such a negative influence on a women can make her not feel beautiful, even if she is. In an episode I watched on Nip and Tuck, one of the surgeons didn’t want to have sexual relations with his wife because he no longer found her beautiful, she then asked him to fix her body in order for him to like her again. Page 5. “Since the Industrial Revolution, middle-­class Western women have been controlled by ideals and stereotypes as much as by material constraints.” We are given the idea that a perfect women actually exist;; she’s tall, beautiful, slim, and without any flaws. We don’t realize that she doesn’t exist. Many women are not content with how they look because they don’t see their body types advertised and the media is…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics