Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants free essay sample

We live in a society in which demands for equality abound. At some point, the rights and privileges associated with the â€Å"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. We will write a custom essay sample on Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 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, â€Å"in an effort to keep tourists in Atlantic City, NJ after Labor Day† (Wikipedia â€Å"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 â€Å"professional women† (Wikipedia â€Å"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 sends mixed messages o the girls and women in search of the â€Å"true† meaning of womanhood. Michelle Cottle makes this observation â€Å"even as we decry being treated like sex objects and valued for our looks, girdles are making a comeback and beneath [†¦] those Ann Taylor suits lurks a Wonderbra† (part. 4) Cottle further observes that: [†¦] whatever peripheral attributes the various pageants measure, a girl’s physical beauty remains of central importance.In a society of fluid gender roles, pageants stand as the purest remaining forum for judging traditional femininity: Good old-fashioned qualities such as charm, poise, and beauty are w hat count. (par 11) Today’s Perception The media seems to have its own agenda when reporting on the Miss America pageant. The media frequently refers to the â€Å"Miss America beauty pageant,† although the pageant organizers seem to have dropped the â€Å"beauty† statement a long time ago- and the word â€Å"beauty† does not even appear on he portal page of the Miss America official website. Rather, as if in a real life limitation of the Candice Bergen character’s insistence to rewrite history in Miss Congeniality, who insisted throughout the movie that the competition was â€Å"a scholarship program,† the word â€Å"scholarship† no fewer than four times on that portal page. In the past, Miss America winners who have used their titles to take on â€Å"causes have been portrayed as rebellious or somehow not conforming the pageant ideals. When Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap went to Washington to speak on Capitol Hill, not only was in buried in the CNN. om â€Å"politics† section, the purpose of her visit was described as â€Å"an agenda,† a word frequently used as a pejorative term. In another example, when the 2003 winner. Erika Harold, Described as a â€Å"22-year-old Harvard-bound scholar and future lawyer, : used her position to speak out on abstinence, Ebony magazine characterized is as â€Å"taking a stand,† a defiant po sition. The article maintains this belligerent, almost aggressive, stance, describing a platform that the magazine states â€Å"proved controversial† for the pageant organization (par. ). However, when I is implied that the pageant is changing the attempt to modernize, in its move to Las Vegas to Atlantic City, the change is criticized as and â€Å"odd choice for an organization that leans more toward country hokum than â€Å"What happens here, stays† revelry’ (CNN par. 2). the author characterizes Atlantic City as a â€Å"seaside town,† while labeling Las Vegas as â€Å"Sin City† (CNN pars. 9,12). The language of this article appears to imply that he pageant is shedding a wholesome image for a less appealing one.This position differs from that of the miss America organization’s chief executive, Art McMaster, who sees the move to las Vegas as being an effort to â€Å"find a new host city that has glitz and glamour Miss America is known for† (CNN, par 1). A September 2004 editorial opened its commentary on the Illinois Miss America entrant this way: â€Å"Don’t tell Miss Illinois Michelle LaGroue that beauty pageants are for bimbos† (Editorial, par. 8). This statement, of course, implies that the term â€Å"bimbo† is one commonly associated with beauty pageant contestants.The editorial’s wish of â€Å"luck† for Miss Illinois Michelle LaGroue seem grudging, following the apparently gracious phrase â€Å"We hope LaGroue’s intelligence and gift of analysis are recognized by the judges of the Miss America Pageant† (Editorial, par. 8). It is hard to know what to make of this editorial, other than its being at odds with perception of the contest in the 1920s, when Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce President Fredrick Hickman made he statement tha â€Å"Miss America represents the highest ideals. She is a real combination of beauty, grace, and intelligence, artistic and refined. She is a type which the American Girl might well emulate† (Miss America website â€Å"Miss America History†). Conclusion What is the Miss America pageant, then, anyway? From the point of view of the organization that sponsors it, the pageant is an event that furthers values, such as scholarship, creativity, and community involvement. The organization depicts that the pageant as having glamour and vibrant appeal that can continue on into this century. The media, however, continues to depict the pageant as one that focuses on beauty over brains, physical attributes over the desire to take part in world-or at least community-affairs.In Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock’s character comes to the conclusion that â€Å"these women are smart, terrific people who are trying to make a difference in the world,† despite previously considering pageants as â€Å"outdated and anti-feminist† (Miss Congeniality). Unlike Bullock’s character, he media seems to b e unwilling to admit that the pageant has moved on from its role of marketing ploy and exploiter of beautiful women. Changes are coming to the Miss America Pageant, even outside of the change venue. Will our media permit themselves to cover these changes in an objective fashion? Judging from the past, it seems unlikely.