Beauty & Brains

Kiara Jones & Marc Martinez

Professor Metzger

ENGL 1302

April 30, 2015

Beauty & Brains

Beauty pageants have been an on-going event in the United States. Even Thomas Edison himself served as a judge for the first contest in 1880; the pageant mostly centering on a bathing suit competition. During the first beauty pageants, “contestants had to be under 25 years old, at least five feet four inches tall, weigh less than 130 pounds and be unmarried. The prize for the winner was a bridal trousseau” (Issues & Controversies). It seemed as if it was almost like being a part of this activity was a sure-fire way to score yourself a husband back in those times. Perhaps for some it hasn’t changed.

Since 1880, beauty pageants have thrived. Studies have estimated that there are close to about 7000,000 pageants every year. Some of these include: Mrs. America, Miss Teen USA, Fitness America Pageant, Miss Gay America, Miss Earth, Miss Gothic Massachusetts, etc. A positive aspect of these beauty pageants is that interests of women—or even men—can be found in some sort of contest. Not to mention, many beauty pageants nowadays offer scholarships to young women and girls that win.

However, what are some of the cons to beauty pageants in America?

Some people may argue that beauty pageants objectify women and give young girls an unrealistic idea of beauty. It is also argued that these pageants promote a poor self-image. Expenses due to pageants may put financial burdens on contestants and the families, as well. Many views on beauty pageants have possibly been turned to a negative outlook due to the pageant’s attempts to improve TV ratings—which had dropped considerably after so many decades. For example, one attempt to get their ratings boosting once again was allowing the contestants to wear any sort of bathing suit, including bikinis for the first time in beauty pageant history. Eventually, “. . . in 2004, the Miss America pageant cut the talent competition—the main element that separated the pageant from other, more “skin-baring” beauty contests like Miss USA—from its television broadcast” (Issues & Controversies).

In contrast, there are still many people out there that believe beauty pageants improve participants’ self-esteem, mostly be encouraging personal and intellectual growth. These types of opinions may also be true. Beauty pageants across America may give young girls and women something to strive for, something to make them want to better themselves in not just a physical aspect, but mentally as well.

To our gender discrimination group, beauty pageants should not get as much hate as they do now. Women should of course be treated as equals and are capable of doing more things than just “looking pretty”, but when someone that may call themselves a feminist turns around to say that women who voluntarily participate in something that makes them feel better about themselves are objectifying the female population are just as worse as people who do not believe in equal rights for all. These women that are contestants in beauty pageants across America may be doing what they do because this could very well help their self-esteem and build them up personally.

So who are we to judge?

If women should be allowed to have the choice in becoming fire fighters or joining the marines, women that want to prove themselves in other ways—such as beauty pageants—should be allowed to, too.

Works Cited

“Beauty Pageants.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 18 Mar. 2005. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://proxy.nvc.alamo.edu:2693/recordurl.aspx?wid=95142&ID=1736>