We live in easily the most superficial and narcissistic era in history. Everything revolves around beauty and perception of beauty. It’s what sells products; it’s how we judge ourselves, and how we judge others. Aren’t we more advanced than that by now? Don’t we have a little more substance than that? The short answer is yes, we break boundaries every day when it comes to overall acceptance of people and their differences, but we have a long way to go. One of the things that can inhibit that growth is the celebration of the superficial such as the Miss America pageant, or so some will argue.
As a former pageant girl, I am going to have to play devil’s advocate on this one. Yes, I will admit that at a certain level beauty pageants are completely ridiculous and over the top, "Toddlers and Tiaras" actually terrifies me! However, in my experience real pageants have a lot of value. The women who compete are incredibly real and hardworking women who work to be the best possible versions of themselves.
The pageant process is an intensive one, it’s not just all pretty dresses and crowns. There are in-depth interviews, both on stage and behind the scenes. Contestants must be well informed about what is going on in the world, and be able to speak eloquently about a variety of topics. For anyone who has ever gone through any kind of interview process, you can relate to how nerve racking and stress inducing that can be. One of the greatest things that I have retained from my pageant days is a level of comfort within an interview setting. I can remember all the way back to when I was a young girl, sitting in interview rooms and facing a panel of adults who were judging my responses. While at the time I really wasn’t aware of how scary that was now I’m glad that there is a level of ease in meetings with professionals.
Another popular criticism is a lack of substance and ambition. These women are just silly air-headed beauty queens. I think this last pageant has proved that to be untrue. If you have been on social media at all I’m sure you have seen something about Miss Colorado whose talent was her monologue regarding her work as a nurse. Some argued that this wasn’t as much of a talent as others who sang, or danced, or played an instrument. I disagree and think that she shows an incredible amount of bravery by opening up conversation about her profession and showing that talent comes in a variety of forms. Her strength is something that has incredible real life application. While at the same time it does not detract from other contestants who have shown passion and spent years devoted to their craft.
Finally, it is important to remember that each of these women has developed unique platforms that they advocate. In many cases, platforms are related to social cause and very real issues facing our world today. These women devote time and attention to a variety of causes such as gender equality, body-positivity, and various health initiatives. These women often work with and in some cases even head organizations that address their causes. All while maintaining jobs, and succeeding in school. If you look at the list of contestants you will find valedictorians, all-American athletes, honor society members, nationally recognized scholarship winners and more. While some see these women as the epitome of superficial and shallow. I see within them women who I admire and even aspire to be. They are pursuing Ph.D.’s in medicine and the sciences, they are working to support those less fortunate than themselves, and working to do good in this world. So, instead I choose to look past the connotations of “beauty pageants” and recognize that these women are hardworking and worthy of being role models.
